TSA hopes new anti-racism portal brings about ’profound, radical change’

Former star doubles player Jeff Coetzee is looking to set up a working relationship with the Rafa Nadal Academy in Spain. Picture: African News Agency (ANA)/Supplied

Former star doubles player Jeff Coetzee is looking to set up a working relationship with the Rafa Nadal Academy in Spain. Picture: African News Agency (ANA)/Supplied

Published Aug 12, 2020

Share

CAPE TOWN - The Black Lives Matter movement has prompted Tennis South Africa to create an online portal where its fraternity can record matters of racism, discrimination and prejudice.

In a statement, TSA said the Transformation Issues Portal (TIP) would allow members of the tennis community to raise issues of racism and discrimination.

“It will be part of its ongoing programme of transformation, TSA recognises its responsibility to provide a framework where issues relating to discrimination (as referred to in the charter commitment) can be recorded,” the statement read.

“This should help bring about profound and radical change that orientates TSA in a new direction and takes it to a higher level of effectiveness.

“The objective of this process is to restore trust and remove conditions undermining relationships of trust, whether of a socio-economic, political or structural nature.

“It seeks to establish a sustainable competitive advantage targeted at enhancing overall competitiveness globally.

“The purpose of the TIP is to give members a voice and to help the association understand members’ experiences and challenges by providing a valuable opportunity for reflection and learning while focusing on players’ wellbeing and supporting players to remain engaged in the sport.”

The online portal will not be a free-for-all platform where members can demand an outcome of complaints or stipulate what should be done to resolve issues.

Instead, TSA’s disciplinary process for investigation and resolution will attend to all the issues listed on TIP.

In some cases, members are required to disclose full names and contact details, while there is also an option to submit issues anonymously.

Meanwhile, TSA’s director of tennis Jeff Coetzee is hoping to make a breakthrough for SA players touring Europe in future.

Coetzee is looking to set up a working relationship with the Rafa Nadal Academy in Spain, Magnus Norman’s Good to Great Tennis Academy in Sweden and the Waske Tennis Academy in Germany.

The primary objective is to provide stop-overs for travelling players when in Europe.

Coetzee and TSA chief executive Richard Glover met with representatives of the Nadal Academy in Cape Town at the time of the Match in Africa event in February.

@Herman_Gibbs

Related Topics: