Top black cricketers back Lungi Ngidi
SENIOR black statesmen and stars in South African cricket have called on Cricket SA (CSA) to urgently address the racial division within the sport.
Thirty-two former black Proteas, including Makhaya Ntini, Hashim Amla, Paul Adams, Vernon Philander, JP Duminy and Herschelle Gibbs, as well as five senior coaches, issued a statement yesterday in support of current national team fast bowler Lungi Ngidi and the #BlackLivesMatter movement.
Ngidi, 24, has been the centre of a storm since last week when he stated: “As a nation… we have a past that is also difficult in terms of racial discrimination. So, definitely, we will be addressing it as a team.
“It’s something we have to take seriously and like the rest of the world is doing, take a stand.”
This prompted a confrontational response from white former Proteas Pat Symcox, Boeta Dippenaar, Rudi Steyn and Brian McMillan, who claimed “All Lives Matter”, leading to racially-charged debate on social media.
Although the CSA and South African Cricketers’ Association (Saca), have since issued statements pledging their support for the Black Lives Movement, there remains a great sense of injustice brewing within the black cricket community.
Saca president and former Cape Cobras captain Omphile Ramela has also written a letter to Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa stating that CSA “must face the consequences” in regards to non-compliance in regards to transformation.
“We commend Lungi Ngidi for supporting #BlackLivesMatter and we’d like to add our support for it too,” the letter stated. “We note the criticism aimed at Lungi for expressing his views and we hope that Cricket SA (CSA), together with fellow cricketers, both present and past, will come out strongly in support of #BLM,” the players and coaches’ statement said.
“We note too that the most outspoken criticism directed at Ngidi has come via former players such as Pat Symcox, Boeta Dippenaar, Rudi Steyn, Brian McMillan and others, and we urge that their views be challenged.
“We are not surprised at their comments.
“Given South Africa’s well-known past, black cricketers have borne the brunt of subtle and overt racist behaviour for many years, including from some colleagues. Consequently, there is a need to understand how white privilege feeds into the perpetuation of these old attitudes and assumptions.”
The statement did not include any white players, past or present, or white coaches due to the fact that former black players and coaches wanted to take a unified stance in expressing their voice.
“All the signatories to the release stated that they have stories to tell about the racism they had to endure as they strove to get to the top of their sporting careers. It is important to bring these into the open, and for CSA to support black cricketers who come forward to air their stories,” the statement said.