Derby coach Liam Rosenior was left hurt by the boos of Millwall fans when players took the knee at The Den on Saturday.
Rosenior was in the dugout as audible jeers rang out from a section of the 2,000 returning Millwall fans before the Rams’ 1-0 victory.
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In recent months, players up and down the country have shown solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement by kneeling before kick-off, as part of a global outcry for racial equality which was sparked by the death of George Floyd in the United States earlier this year.
It is a campaign designed to fight racism and discrimination, yet some have argued that the Millwall fans in question were booing the politics associated with the Black Lives Matter movement, rather than the calls for equality.
Indeed, the Millwall Supporters Club issued a statement claiming the boos were a response to ‘war memorials and statues of Winston Churchill being defaced by the BLM organisation and the extreme political views they hold’.
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Rosenior insists politics has nothing to do with taking the knee – and it frustrates the Derby coach that a simple gesture to promote equality has been tarnished in some quarters.
“At the time, it hurt,” he told talkSPORT. “I’m proud to be English, proud to be of mixed heritage, and to hear people boo for a cause when you’re asking for equality, that’s something that hurts you to your core and makes you realise how much work there is to do.
“Taking a knee is a peaceful action in terms of positive change, and it’s been conflated with a political message. That’s come from the very top through government, which makes it harder to take.
“There is not a single footballer in the country who is taking the knee because they are Marxist, or because they want to see bad things happening on our streets.
“I take a knee because I want to see every member of our society treated equally. That shouldn’t even be an argument. It [politics] is something people use to forward their prejudiced views.”
Rosenior refused to point the finger at Millwall as a whole, highlighting the club’s efforts to try and combat racism.
And the Derby coach would be happy to sit down with any fans who booed and educate them on why players take a knee, rather than stirring up more divide.
“You have to do what you believe in and that’s the whole point of taking the knee,” he added.
“What we’re doing is saying that black lives matter too. Not that white lives don’t matter.
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“It’s a statement to say that for a long time, black and ethnic minority people are working at a disadvantage in many areas of our society.
“If people disagree with that, I’d be more than happy to sit down and have a conversation with them.
“I’d love to talk to them, because that’s the only way we move forward.
“We need to have reasoned conversations, not arguments.”
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