Bristol City's men's football squad has announced they will no longer be taking the knee before kick-off as the 2022/23 Championship season begins.
In a statement issued on behalf of the players, the Championship club, who begin their campaign against Hull City on Saturday, say they will still stand and applaud other teams who do take the knee, but that they won't be doing it themselves.
The statement, which doesn't make it explicitly clear why the players have decided to stop making the gesture before each game, says they will continue to celebrate the diversity and difference within their squad and in Bristol itself, and will work with the Robins Foundation, Bristol City's community charity organisation, to support their efforts to eliminate discrimination.
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The team, along with virtually every other team in professional football in England, began taking the knee in June 2020, when the Black Lives Matter movement surged in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in the United States.
That same month, the statue of slave trader Edward Colston was toppled in Bristol itself, and players initially playing games behind closed doors because of the Covid pandemic, began taking the knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, and as a gesture of solidarity with those aiming to end racism and discrimination.
The gesture began in a modern sporting context with American footballer Colin Kaepernick and others began sinking to one knee instead of standing for the US national anthem played before NFL games in 2016. Since then, going on one knee for a brief period before the start of a game has become a common symbol of solidarity and against racism and discrimination right across the football world in this country.
Over the past two years, the gesture has been occasionally controversial - particularly when involving England players - and some prominent black players, including Crystal Palace's Wilfried Zaha, stopped doing it, saying it had lost its meaning.
When fans returned to Ashton Gate at the start of the 2021-22 season a year ago, the gesture was initially jeered from some in the crowd, although a vast majority of supporters began applauding when it was done, and the boos eventually died out.
The City players' statement said they did it from June 2020 as an 'important stance of solidarity in the fight against all forms of discrimination', but would not continue it when the new season gets underway on Saturday, July 30, with an away trip to Hull City.
"As a group of players we have decided to no longer take the knee before matches," the statement said. "We have taken the knee at every game we have played since June 2020 as an important stance of solidarity in the fight against all forms of discrimination.
"That battle must continue every day in how we all behave and contribute to society and we will applaud opposition teams who take the knee and raise awareness while ensuring that we have a zero-tolerance approach to hate and abuse. Everyone can make a difference, from individuals through to governing bodies and social media companies, whom we urge to use the power of their global systems to help bring online abuse to an end.
"We are blessed with diversity and difference within our squad and within the great city of Bristol and we will continue to celebrate that rich mixture of race and culture. The club, especially through the Robins Foundation charity, works hard to make a difference to people every single day by removing barriers to access sport and education.
"As players we will play our part by supporting the Foundation and other organisations who are inclusive and strive to eliminate discrimination," they added.
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