The South African Sports Hall of Fame has reiterated its expulsion of disgraced former tennis legend Bob Hewitt after a similar international organisation also removed him this week.
On Wednesday, the International Tennis Hall of Fame based in Rhode Island in the US revealed it had expelled Hewitt from its ranks after a long suspension.
Last year, Hewitt was convicted of the rape of two children in the 1980s as well as the indecent assault of a teenager a decade later.
The damning high court judgment labelled the 76-year-old a “violator of children” and sentenced him to six years in prison and a R100 000 fine.
While Hewitt is expected to appeal against his sentence next month, he was denied the opportunity to appeal against the conviction.
“The expulsion is a result of a conviction against Hewitt on two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault. The conviction was issued by a South African court in March 2015, and the appellate courts have now denied the right to further appeals of the conviction. Upon his suspension in 2012, his Hall of Fame plaque and all references to him among the Hall of Famers were immediately removed,” the International Tennis Hall of Fame said.
Miranda Friedmann, founding director of Women and Men against Child Abuse, which has monitored the case since its inception, said they welcomed the decision.
“No person committing crimes against children should get away with it because of any power they wield through their fame or wealth,” she said.
Meanwhile, the South African Sports Hall of Fame managing director, Johnny Burger, said Hewitt had been expelled in the middle of last year after the conviction.
“Anyone who brings the organisation into ill repute will be expelled,” said Burger.
In the heads of argument submitted to the Supreme Court of Appeal to argue against his sentencing, Hewitt has claimed his rapes and sexual assault were neither “cruel”, “callous” nor “extremely brutal”.
In its rebuttal, the state has insisted Hewitt had not shown remorse for his crimes and the victims had indeed been traumatised by Hewitt’s “atrocious and heinous” crimes.
The Supreme Court will hear the matter on May 3. - The Star