Mitchell Marsh owes all South Africans an apology for his ‘hate speech’
AS A passionate follower of cricket and someone who has spent a lifetime championing the cause of justice and moral standards, I have been deeply dismayed at the off-the-ball events in the current series between South Africa and Australia.
In particular, I have been distressed at the unevenhandedness of sanctions handed out to players for on-field misdemeanours, and in particular to South Africa’s young bowling star, Kagiso Rabada.
In considering all the events that have occurred, however, I believe there is one underlying issue – the elephant in the room, as it were – that no one wishes to mention but, if not aired, could cause great damage in the future. The issue is the one of racism.
For centuries, we as blacks have been discriminated against on racial grounds. The memory is deeply ingrained in our psyche. It is not something that is easily forgotten. It is against this backdrop that I refer to the occasion, captured on television cameras, in the second Test in which Australia’s Mitchell Marsh addressed Rabada with excessively obscene and uncouth language.
Take a moment to consider the impact of this insult.
Marsh used vile and obscene language towards Rabada, words of the kind that would have been hurled at his forebears living under the yoke of apartheid. However common the use of such words may be in Australia, the effect on black South Africans watching and playing this sport may be immense.
When a white Australian hurls swear words at one of our brightest young black stars and a role model for aspiring cricketers, especially black cricketers, is anyone surprised that this comes across, particularly to a black South African, as racist or hate speech?
Hate speech is an offence against the law here. It can lead to a charge being laid with the Human Rights Commission as a breach of human rights. It is a violation of our constitution. It is offensive to moral standards that eschew the use of vile language that can be interpreted as racist in the South African context.
Clearly, this is something of which the current Australian cricketers appear to be unaware. So too, it would appear, is their management. In their efforts to win at all costs, the visiting Australians have seemingly forgotten the context in which they find themselves – that of centuries of racial discrimination and denial of participation in sports teams representing the nation.
When you are a guest of another country, it is incumbent on you to act in the cultural context of that country and not to risk breaking its laws. Why is it apparently so difficult for Australian cricketers to act appropriately in the South African context by refraining from sledging that may be perceived by South Africans – of all colours – as racist?
I am therefore making a call for Marsh to publicly apologise, not just to Rabada but to all South Africans, of all colours, for his damaging remarks.
I also call on the Australian management to do likewise. Management should also take a very firm position against such perceived racist sledging by the team and take active steps to sensitise the Australian players to the particular South African context.
But it is not only the players who seem to misunderstand the demeaning way in which the words are interpreted, but the adjudicators as well. Hate speech, in my view, should attract far more that just a level 1 charge, which is what Marsh was found guilty of.
In contrast, Rabada was found guilty of a level 2 charge for brushing the shoulder of Steve Smith. The difference in standards here is clear.
Finally, I call on the International Cricket Council and its umpires to adopt a more lenient approach towards the sentencing of Rabada.
Officials need to take into account the delicate nature of race relations in South Africa in their adjudication, as well as the fact that we are speaking about a young man on the cusp of his career, whose enthusiasm got the better of him.
I have no doubt that he has already learnt his lesson through this incident.
From a purely cricketing perspective, both teams in this series want to field the best team possible. For one of them to have to omit the number one bowler in the world will be detrimental to the game of cricket and to the enjoyment of this series by spectators.
Ndungane, a former prisoner on Robben Island, was the Bishop of Kimberley and Kuruman and Archbishop of Cape Town