On Saturday, members of the German Soccer Club Hertha Berlin knelt down at Berlin's Olympiastadion in the beginning of Bundesliga home game, the New York Times reported. Standing in a line on the field, the players joined arms and kneeled down. Pal Dardai’s coaching staff, General Manager Michael Preetz, club officials and substitutes also knelt down in front of the team's bench. The two photos of the players and other stuff were shared on Twitter.

The US professional sports players used to kneel down during the National Anthem playing before the league matches.

This act means a violation of the rule of standing while listening to the anthem.

What did Hertha Berlin demonstrate?

The club wrote on its official Twitter account about their public support of tolerance and responsibility. They used a popular hashtag "#TakeAKnee" in their post as well. Hertha’s captain, Per Skjelbred, said that their aim was to act against racism, the Hill reported.

Their kneeling demonstrated a public support of the NFL (National Football League) sportsmen, who have been kneeling down to show their protest against the policy of the current US government, racial inequality, discrimination, and social injustice in the US.

Hertha defender Sebastian Langkamp stated that the team wanted to give a lesson to those people, who are not ideological enough in the 21st century.

The stadium announcer claimed in front of around 50,000 fans that Hertha BSC showed their support against violence and discrimination, CTV reported.

Footballer Salomon Kalou announced that they stood against racists and were intended to continue fighting against discrimination, which shouldn't exist in sport.

How did it start?

In 2016, Colin Kaepernick, a footballer from the NFL, was the first sportsman who knelt down during the playing anthem to demonstrate his protest against the "oppression of minorities." For the following months, several players have been following his act.

Last month, President Donald Trump tweeted that such sports stars had lack of patriotism and should not be allowed to disrespect the country or its symbols.

He added that the NFL owners should fire those sports stars who violate the standing rule.

When the NFL chief Roger Goodell said that Donald Trump's abolishing words were "divisive", President Trump tweeted that Goodell tried to justify the disrespect of some players toward the country.

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