SuperSport tiff being resolved
TV analysts in ‘robust’ talks
Ashwin Willemse‚ who staged a walkout on air over dissatisfaction with his copresenters at SuperSport on Saturday‚ said the issue was “very profound”.
He directed comments at fellow former Springboks and co-presenters Naas Botha and Nick Mallett as he walked off from a live TV broadcast following a fallout with his colleagues.
Willemse‚ a former Springbok wing‚ claimed he “can’t work with people who undermine other people”.
“I’ve been in the game for a long time like most of us here‚” he said. “As a player I’ve been called a quota for a long time and I’ve worked very hard to earn the respect I have now.
“I’m not going to sit here and be patronised by these two individuals [Mallett and Botha] who played their rugby during the apartheid era...”
Willemse’s comments hinted at racial bias but that was denied yesterday by SuperSport, which launched a full investigation into the incident.
Willemse said the issue ran much deeper for him.
“We had robust discussions in which I aired my views. I’m very appreciative of the process undertaken by SuperSport. The complexity of the issues is very profound.”
According to company CEO Gideon Khobane‚ Mallett and Botha were not guilty of being racist.
“We are positive that this was not a racially motivated issue because all parties were very courteous during our discussions that started this morning.”
Mallett said: “... I am more than happy to collaborate and contribute to resolving this matter.”
Botha added: “We’ve invested in a process to resolve matters and I’m confident that we will get a satisfactory resolution.”