Hertha Berlin Takes A Knee In Germany

The NFL players taking a knee just got additional support from their fellow athletes across The Pond who play the other football.

The German soccer club Hertha Berlin took a knee yesterday before their Bundesliga match with Schalke which unfortunately for them was a 2-0 loss   The Hertha Berlin starters linked arms and took a knee on the pitch while their coach Pal Dardai, General Manager Michael Preetz and the rest of the Hertha team kneeled on the sidelines before kickoff in solidarity with NFL players.

"We wanted to take a stand against racism," said Hertha captain Per Skjelbred in an interview after their 2-0 loss

The symbolism of this 'take a knee' protest was magnified because Hertha Berlin plays its home games in the renovated Olympiastadion, which was built for the 1936 Olympic Games by Nazi Germany.

Germany in recent years post reunification has also had their problems with racism rearing its ugly head there as the country becomes more diverse.

The Olympiastadion stadium announcer said to the more that 50,000 fans in attendance, "Hertha Berlin stands for diversity and against violence.  For this reason we are joining the protest by American athletes and setting a sign against discrimination."

Hertha Berlin also said in a statement on the team's Twitter account "Hertha BSC stands for tolerance and responsibility!  For a tolerant Berlin and an open minded world now and forever."

Hertha Berlin's players were unanimous in their support for yesterday's action and admitted they were inspired to do so by the NFL protests. 'We stand against racists and that's our way of sharing that  We are always going to fight against this kind of behavior as a team and as a city," said Hertha Berlin forward Salomon Kalou.

This is just another undeniable sign that the NFL players are on the right side of history.  The rest of the world is watching the unjust things you do, and are commenting on it.

And in some cases, thy are doing so by taking a knee.