And we will not kneel!

The Czech national football team just won't kneel down. It seems a bit like childish stubbornness and defiance. It's like a little kid lying on the floor, kicking his legs and screaming "I don't want to, I don't want to" to the point of exhaustion. The pressure from the environment is not insignificant, although it is crumbling a bit and there are more and more critics and rejectors of this gesture. There are many ways to express respect, admiration, support or simple courtesy, and there are just as many different moments when it is appropriate to show respect. Years ago, football seized the opportunity to show the world that it has a visible side to its existence other than beautiful goals, top sporting performances, arguing with umpires, feigning injury or claiming penalty kicks when no foul was committed. Football has defined itself against racial oppression, the use of skin colour to insult and denigrate and anything that creates an unequal view of people of different races. That is certainly commendable. Knowing that, sooner or later, some symbolic messages may divide football fans in opinion. Equality between the races is a given in a cultural setting; on the other hand, exploiting ethnicity for quick condemnation is tempting, and very popular in a crowd, in the stands or in the scrum. Football is a bit of a reflection of the state of the society we live in. Rivalries, rivalries, fights. It's played by the rules - mostly, that is. The umpire sometimes influences the result, sometimes luck plays a role, here and there bad luck. The majority of players, umpires, coaches and members of the implementation teams are fine people who know how far they can go without being unfair. But a few percent are scoundrels, rogues, provocateurs and a liability. They do football a disservice. And they kneel when it's convenient for them. That's why I like the fact that Czech footballers are resisting the mass, long-standing and somewhat hollowed-out gesture and finding other ways to deal with the issue. They just play football.

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