Irish Examiner View: Sensible move not to allow taking the knee to become routine

The power of the protest can be lost through over-familiarity and over-use.

Alex Iwobi and Seamus Coleman of Everton take a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement prior to the Premier League match between Leeds United and Everton at Elland Road on August 21, 2021. Picture: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

The return of the Premier League for its 30th season marks a series of new beginnings, but also the end of a weekly fixture which has been with us since June 2020 — the ritual of players “taking the knee”.

It remains to be seen whether active support against racism stays as visible now that this admittedly short-lived tradition has been put aside, but it was always a potentially divisive issue, particularly among those who resist sport being appropriated for political objective.