One of the many privileges we enjoy in this beautiful country is freedom of speech. The freedom to express ourselves without fear of injury or prosecution.
It certainly wasn’t the case during the dark past of apartheid when the merciless Security Branch would pick up the “terrorists” who criticised the National Party government in the dark of night for questioning or even worse...
I have enjoyed the debate surrounding the Springboks and transformation or the lack thereof. Social media has been buzzing, and every single person with a phone or a computer has been posting their opinions on the matter.
Emotions have tended to run a bit high, because at the end of the day we are only human... flesh and blood. Nobody is pulling any punches, doesn’t matter on which side of the fence they are sitting.
Many South Africans tend to throw Bafana Bafana into the mix as far as the race debate is concerned. “Why not quotas for soccer? Our national soccer team is too black”.
Hmmm. A former colleague and friend mentioned on Facebook that Bafana do need “a quota of strikers” because of their appalling finishing in front of goal. Having covered the last Africa Cup of Nations in January in Equatorial Guinea, he may be ont o something. But other than “transforming” Bafana’s strikers, the national soccer team should not be involved in this argument.
There is a perception from white rugby supporters – many of whom don’t even follow soccer in this country – that white players don’t get an equal opportunity when it comes to soccer. But it’s quite the opposite, as soccer clubs, the national team and the fans have always embraced white players.
Mark Fish, Neil Tovey, Matthew Booth and, more recently, Dean Furman, possibly the nicest man you ever wish to meet, are popular figures among black fans.
These days, though, there aren’t many white players in the PSL, mostly because Model C schools don’t really focus on soccer. White kids go play for clubs, but not many of them actively pursue a career in soccer.
Rugby, though, is a different landscape altogether, because, and if you don’t mind me squashing another myth, black people have been playing rugby for over 100 years. But because of apartheid the best talent couldn’t compete with their white counterparts.
So arguing that Bafana need “white faces” is basically a conformation that you think soccer belongs to the “blacks” and rugby belongs to the “whites”, and to hell with the rest.
The same people would argue that too many black faces in your rugby team will harm your chances on the field. But what does winning have to do with black and white? Out of all the South African Super Rugby franchises, the Stormers consistently had more black players than any other local team. Incidentally, they were the only SA team to make the playoffs.
Rugby in this country does not belong to one ethnic group or race. It belongs to all who play the game. And it’s time that black players are embraced and not scorned.
It’s time to give them a chance. Not only on the field, but also in your heart ...
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Cape Times