Exposing a hard truth – SA sport’s endless battle to transform
At one point in the mid-90s, there were less than a handful of black players in the national rugby, cricket and netball squads combined, and while there has been some progress since, all three team codes are still struggling to reach low-bar transformation targets.
Siya Kolisi and his fellow Boks have been recognised by World Rugby for their fundraising efforts during the current pandemic. Picture: Getty Images
Three decades after the nation emerged from international isolation, transformation remains perhaps the most controversial topic in South African sport.
Reignited by the Black Lives Matter movement, the perpetual debate
rages more fiercely than ever, with a growing list of elite black athletes revealing that they continue to feel marginalised both on and off the field.
For all the talk from stakeholders, however, the drive for equality has been climbing an uphill battle since the early ’90s.
In 1995, after the Springboks won the Rugby World Cup in their first attempt on home soil, an air of opportunity and a sense of triumph settled over the local sporting landscape.
There was a feeling, perhaps, that much of the work had been done.
United. Victorious. Let’s move on.
Former Springbok captain Francois Pienaar and the late Madiba displayed an image of compatriots in arms at the 1995 Rugby World Cup, which was credited for uniting the nation. Picture: Wessel Oosthuizen/Gallo Images
But the progress has been slow, and the statistics tell a painful truth.
While the Springbok squad, captained by Siya Kolisi, was lauded for lifting the Rugby World Cup for the third time in Japan last year, there were only seven players of colour in the 23-man team (or a total of 30%) that turned out in the final.
Conversely, according to census figures, more than 80% of South Africa’s 59 millions citizens are black African, and less than 9% are white.
For further progress to be made, former Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus feels it is crucial for people to see the bigger picture in an attempt to widen the talent pool.
“If you see transformation as a black guy taking a white player’s spot, then you’re looking at transformation the wrong way, and you’ll never coach a successful team,” Erasmus, now the national director of rugby, said in a talk last week at Stellenbosch University.
But rugby is by no means alone in the struggle to transform.
At last year’s Cricket World Cup in the UK there were eight black players in the 16-man squad (50%) which crashed out in the group stages.
A similar trend has seemingly left a ripple which stretches through the fabric of South African sport.
At the Netball World Cup in Liverpool last season, when the Proteas reached the semifinals for the first time in 24 years, there were only four players of colour in the 12-member squad (33%).
Elsewhere, of the 21 medals earned in the pool at the Fina World Championships since 2009, not one has been secured by a black swimmer.
And of the 14 podium places achieved in individual disciplines at the multi-sport Olympic Games between 2008 and 2016, a total of five (36%) have been earned by athletes of colour.
Caster Semenya, who won women’s 800m gold at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Games, is the only black South African athlete to have earned two Olympic medals. Picture: Wessel Oosthuizen/Gallo Images
Some sports, however, have had less trouble transforming.
In 1996, when Bafana Bafana lifted the Africa Cup of Nations trophy on home soil, 11 of the 13 players (85%) who took to the field in the final were players of colour.
Similarly, in athletics, while administrators have repeatedly been criticised for not submitting sufficient information to the Eminent Persons Group on Transformation, in order for government to monitor its progress, the sport looks to be on target at the highest level.
Of the 16 medals earned in individual events by SA athletes at the World Athletics Championships since 2009, 12 of them (75%) have been secured by black athletes.
The national football squad ahead of the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations final. Picture: Duif du Toit/Gallo Images
Government continues to claim that transformation is a priority, insisting recently that discrimination had spread like a “cancer” through South African sport and admitting the long-running issue needed to be addressed.
The department of sport, however, has been criticised over the years for enforcing quotas which have not yielded the desired results, and for allegedly failing to invest in sport at grass roots level.
Some have suggested the drive for transformation and the recent BLM
wave have drawn attention away from other alleged social issues in SA, with the likes of former Bafana Bafana star Mark Fish and retired Proteas spinner Pat Symcox taking a stand instead in favour of All Lives Matter.
Sorry to offend many people…I certainly am not a racist but I am a firm believer in all people matter so all lives matter…no matter our past…focus on today and the future….if you don’t stand for something you will always fall for everything…have a fantastic evening !!
— Mark Fish (@markfish74) July 22, 2020
Despite its detractors, however, the impact of BLM has been profound.
“We are determined… that no South African cricketer should be discriminated against in the future,” said a group which included 30 former Proteas players of colour.
From within the rugby community, nearly 50 elite former players and
coaches recently issued a joint statement, alleging that black players continued to be marginalised at decision-making levels of the game.
Kolisi also expressed his views, revealing how he had struggled to conform to the culture within the Springbok squad.
While some supporters reacted by burning their Springbok and Proteas
jerseys, Bok icon Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira joined Kolisi in the call
for change.
View this post on Instagram
In reaction to the outcry, Cricket SA has launched a new action plan and appointed a transformation committee, while the SA Rugby Union (Saru) has admitted to some of its shortfalls.
For all the talk, however, the numbers continue to expose an uncomfortable reality, and many of the country’s sporting legends have stood up in unity, demanding a response to a question which still persists 30 years after readmission to international sport.
When will there be change?
– Additional reporting by Sport24
For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.
For more news your way
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.
