CAPE TOWN - Proteas Men’s coach Mark Boucher has apologised “sincerely and unreservedly” for anything that may have offended any of his former national teammates, but categorically denies dubbing Paul Adams with the term “brown sh…t”
Boucher has also asked whether he could discuss the allegations directed at him on a “one-on-one basis directly with the ex-teammates that I have offended” in his 14-page affidavit to Cricket South Africa's Social Justice and Nation-Building committee. He intends to submit a second affidavit.
The former national wicket-keeper has been at the centre of an alleged racial storm since being named by former teammate Adams, as being among the group of players, who sang a derogatory song aimed at Adams during team celebrations in the late 1990s. The song depicted Adams as a “brown sh..t”.
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Boucher states that he has tried to make contact with Adams since his submission, and furthermore provides context to how the post-match celebrations came into being, but wholeheartedly denied being the initiator of the name calling.
He also claims that he was “naïve” when joining the Proteas team as a 20-year-old, but can categorically state “that nothing I have ever said or done was motivated by malice and was certainly not motivated by racism.”
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He went further by saying that “I have never felt superior to any of my teammates, or any other person for that matter, because of the colour of my skin.”
Boucher claimed that after listening to the “hurt some of my teammates felt and the feeling of exclusion” that had occurred, everyone related to cricket in South Africa “should have been more sensitive and created an environment where all members could raise and talk about these issues without allowing it to fester.”
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The Proteas coach has since addressed the national team prior to their tour to Sri Lanka on Monday about the affidavit that he has submitted to the SJN in order for “the distraction from the focus of the tour could be kept to a minimum”.
Limited-overs captain Temba Bavuma has acknowledged that Boucher met with the team to address the matter at his pre-departure media conference.
Furthermore, Boucher claims that he and his family have been left “traumatised” by the constant attack on his character on social media, leading him to believe that there could be a “hidden agenda” behind the plot terming him to be an alleged racist.
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