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Shooting From The Hip - Rugby's Double Standards Stink

2008-04-04  Staff Report 2

Shooting From The Hip - Rugby's Double Standards Stink
"Carlos Kambaekwa By many accounts, the President of the Namibian Rugby Union, one Dirk Conradie is not the easiest of blokes to put up with - simply because of his very sharp tongue and perceived lack of exercising diplomacy when dealing with sensitive issues. Regardless of countless accusations levelled against the leadership of Conradie , the brother has been able to weather the storm and appears to have no intention of being bundled out of Lichtenstein Street, at least not for the time being. Judging by the tone adopted by certain sections of the media and the anger unleashed by the ""Klipdrift and Boerewors"" bellied rugby mad dudes and subsequent calling for Conradie's head - compelling the motor mouth mentor to make a public apology for utterances he made about his detractors - one would have thought the brother has committed a serious criminal offence. Yours truly is not entirely surprised that while Conradie was castigated for comments he made out of frustrations, the very same people who condemn him are suddenly tightlipped when a national rugby player is fingered as one of the producers of the now infamous Free State University video that subjected darkies to unspeakable torture and humiliation. For many years now, the country's sports authorities have been hoodwinked by a small band of vindictive sources into believing that the game will never flourish under the guidance of darkies. The bottom line however is that the majority of people who play and follow the game are not playing ball fairly and are rather focusing on personalities instead of rendering assistance. Those who claimed to be carrying the oval ball's game at heart are comfortable in playing the blame game and have done very little to get rugby out of its current quagmire, that's the naked truth. One would have thought there is an urgent need from the sports authorities to address and accordingly deal with the national disgrace committed by a national rugby player in a foreign country - but alas, his name is not Dirk Conradie, who has been labelled a racist at every turn for speaking his mind while the deeds of others are deliberately left unchallenged. These are double standards and selective apathy to say the least, so I rest my case for the time being and sincerely hope somebody within the top echelons of our sport will have the courage to start looking at things in a different perspective. Namibian Premier League a Toothless Bulldog? By now, I'm sure I'm not the only person wondering whether the Black Africa/African Stars debacle will ever come to an end. It's almost four months now since this eagerly awaited clash was prematurely abandoned and yet football authorities cannot find an amicable solution to the problem which has been the result of their own inability to apply the rules accordingly. To refer the matter to a hastily-assembled ""Independent Committee"" is tantamount to shifting the goalposts because whatever decision or recommendations made by this entity will never have any legal standing, and any aggrieved party will have a legitimate right to contest any ruling influenced by recommendations from this so-called independent body. Firstly, can somebody explain what makes the Namibia Premier League suggest that this Committee is independent while it consists of members who have vested interest in the ultimate outcome of the protracted case, whichever direction it points to? Somebody messed up big time within the football structures and the league should be bold enough and bring the culprit to book instead of dwelling on the matter while passing the buck whereas it should have stopped at them ages ago, period! It's my humble opinion that the second round activities of the league should never have started because the first round is still incomplete. The Namibian Premier League is guided by rules and regulations and should stick to that rather than be guided by sentiments. The league cannot take a neutral stance in this case and must come up with a final and binding ruling, whether it will be popular or not - just apply the laws of the game because one cannot stand just in the middle of the road for the mere sake of showing that you are neither here nor there unless you are hell-bent on being knocked down by traffic. "
2008-04-04  Staff Report 2

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