RACISM STILL A REALITY IN SA SPORT

THIS week Cricket South Africa (CSA) decided to withdraw charges against Proteas head coach Mark Boucher over a derogatory song that the whole team sang, in which former spinner Paul Adams was referred to as a “brown sh***t”.

The incident(s) happened in the South African cricket team of the 1990s and early 2000s when Boucher was still a player alongside Adams. This emerged as part of the testimony that Adams presented at the SJN hearings, where Boucher also made a statement apologising to Adams.

Boucher had had a cloud over him for almost a year, but now that the matter is closed he can continue to focus on building the national team before the 2023 World Cup. The cloud that still hovers over CSA, though, is how they have handled the matter and what plans they have to root out a culture of racism in the sport of cricket.

Too many questions remain on the role of many former players and administrators. A number of black players have pointed to issues that did not sit well with them when they were part of different national teams.

It is difficult for cricket bosses to go on a witch-hunt, but the least they should do is to carry out programmes that will bring about a culture change in sporting codes.

And it can’t be CSA alone – there are worrying incidents that happen during school sports. So, there’s a role that schools and the Department of Education can play in bringing about change.

What about the Department of Sport? Surely, they can’t just pay lip service and react only when there are problems. The department has to invest in youth development and ensure that the federations spend the budget gainfully.

To confirm that racism still exists in sport in the country, one need only follow the vitriol South African citizens post on social media platforms whenever a subject like the Boucher matter comes to the fore.

Yes, maybe Boucher (and his former teammates) need to come forward and apologise, but will that apology deal with racism in sport?

It’s a question that should preoccupy the CSA leadership as they ponder how to move forward in implementing the SJN hearings’ recommendations.