South Africa: Sports stars back BLM movement
Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) - A large group of leading African rugby coaches, former players and administrators have joined the Black Lives Matter movement.
The group comprises former national stars Ashwin Willemse, Kaya Malotana, Hilton Lobberts, Norman Jordaan, Thando Manana and Adrian Jacobs, as well as former national coach Pieter de Villiers (the only black coach in history) and former Namibia coach John Williams.
They have pledged to support national cricketer Lungisani Ngidi who came under fire for supporting the BLM movement.
While many current and former cricketers publicly supported his views, some white former players came under fire for having “views that are shaped by racism”.
The rugby BLM group released a statement saying that since the global outcry for movement and its continuous fight against racism and inequality, rugby administrators in South Africa had remained mum on this topic.
“Although South African Rugby made big strides to ensure our playing squads are representative at national level, the uninterrupted exclusion of black head coaches and top administrators continues,” they said.
“We can no longer live in fear and our inner voices won’t be silenced anymore,” the statement concluded.
Meanwhile, former South African football star Quinton Fortune, who represented Real Madrid and Manchester United, has spoken out about the racial abuse he experienced in Spain.
During a spell when he represented Mallorca FC, he said his own team mate racially abused him in training.
“I didn't know what to do and I didn't know who to turn to. I didn't speak the language. I never prayed so much in all my life just to get away from that club,” he said.
-0- PANA CU/MA 16July2020
