Sports stars ‘must be role models’, says Thorpe

SWIMMINGstars Ian Thorpe and Achmat Hassiem yesterday weighed in on the case of Oscar Pistorius as they discussed sports people’s responsibility as role models.

“A lot of people do not feel like justice was done,” said Thorpe during a panel session at the 2015 World Sports Values Summit for Peace and Development in the City.

“You can look at Pistorius and be inspired by his performance, but then be saddened by what happened.”

Thorpe was part of a panel discussing the responsibility of sports stars to serve as positive role models when an audience member brought up the case of Pistorius, whose name was again making headlines yesterday as the State’s appeal against the disgraced athlete’s culpable homicide conviction began in the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein. In 2014, the Pretoria High Court convicted Pistorius of culpable homicide for shooting his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. It was argued that Pistorius had mistaken Steenkamp for an intruder at his homewhen he fired four shots through a closed toilet door.

Thorpe said he, like many others, felt Pistorius “had not served a long enough sentence and that this was often the case in the sporting world when offences were committed”.

Co-panelist and a former paralympian teammate of Pistorius, “Sharkboy” Hassiem, added to the discussion.

“It wasn’t just Oscar who was targeted by this,” said Hassiem, who participated in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing and the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London.”The entire paralympic team was affected”. Hassiem said instead of people focusing on Pistorius as a representative of the paralympic team, stars such as retired swimmer Natalie du Toit and athlete Ilse Hayes should be held up as role models.

“One of the wheels has fallen off the wagon but that’s not the whole wagon.” – ANA