Social media has been abuzz with comments over former Springbok rugby flying winger Ashwin Willemse’s walkout of the SuperSport studio live broadcast.
And while his bold decision to walk out was largely condemned by the conservative white elite – a significant number of darkies hailed his courageous decision to call a spade a spade and the brother did it exactly where it hurts the most, just for everybody to witness what has been under wraps over the years.
This opens a can of worms because a sizeable number of ‘larneys’ have adopted this misplaced perception that certain sporting disciplines, the oval ball (rugby) in particular, is their own heaven and private domain.
To worsen matters, these blokes have been trying by all means to keep players of colour at arm’s length from the game of rugby and for them not to unleash their full potential.
Cases of blatant racism in sport are not new in rugby but those who control the game have made it their sole province to downplay these unfolding unpleasant episodes that have prevailed in the game ever since the country gained her democracy.
Sadly, this nauseating exercise has obliged the South African sports authorities to introduce a quota system – a decision that did not go well down the toxic throats of the oppressors, the architects of apartheid.
For as long as those who have immensely benefited from the apartheid system – the real cause of racism – are given free rein to have a say and dictate the terms on how to rectify the wrongs of the past, athletes of colour will remain at the mercy of their colonizers.
Yours truly has with disgust taken note of a new phrase, conveniently coined by ‘larneys’ whenever they are confronted on righting their wrongs (injustices) and reminded of their past deeds: “don’t play the race card”, which of course is a cock and bull story.
And for those who care to remember – a few years ago, a bulky dude going by the name of Geo Cronje (Blue Bulls) was sent home after he refused to share a room with Quinton Davids, a coloured rugby player from WP while in camp with the Springboks.
Accusations of systematic racism is not an isolated case to South Africa – Namibia is also saddled with the same crap in the predominantly white-dominated sporting codes where a whole range of indigenous Namibians (athletes) are literally treated like second-class citizens in the land of their ancestors.
Just a couple of months ago, a white Afrikaner bloke took it upon himself to re-baptize a darkish hide rugby player from South Africa “’n swart bobbejaan” (a black baboon in the queen’s lingo).
Despite widespread condemnation of the racial slur, rugby authorities turned a blind eye to the incident, refusing point-blankly to bring the perpetrator to book.
The militant Swapo Party Youth League (SPYL) and the Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) also weighed in, joining the chorus of discontent.
The parties ordered rugby authorities to launch a thorough investigation into the serious allegations but up to this day the toothless rugby union (NRU) has not lifted a finger.
The crux of the matter is that whites generally regard the quota system as handouts to players of colour, interpreting it as a token of gesture to rectify wrongs of the past at the expense of “deserving” white players.
However, the downside to the unavoidable quota system is that players of colour are made to suffer indignity for being beneficiaries of the quota system, living with the stigma that they are not in the team on merit because of their ability but as a result of the unfortunate, enforced quota system.
It’s a well-documented secret that whites in many aspects of life have not necessarily embraced the concept of unity and reconciliation but are obliged by circumstances beyond their scope to go along with the stream because of reality.
Ever wondered why Namibia is not having a competitive sevens rugby side? Well here is the answer: Sevens rugby requires lots of speed and skill – an ingredient that is very much in short supply amongst larneys.
The union will be obliged to field a largely darkish hide team – a practice that does not exactly sit well with the powers that be at Lichtenstein-Strasse.
Lest we forget, a brilliant brainy darkish hide secretary was unceremoniously elbowed out of office because she was deemed unsuitable to be the face of the racist NRU.
The bottom line is that there is blatant racism in sports – it’s just that people don’t want to talk about it. I rest my case.