SA’s batting woes in their opening game of the T20 World Cup will soon be forgotten, as will their tenacious fightback which saw Australia limp to their victory target of just 119 with two balls to spare. Whatever they achieve in their second game against the West Indies on Wednesday may also be quickly overtaken.
Not just because that is the nature of T20 cricket — instant entertainment immediately digested — but because Temba Bavuma’s team is likely to be remembered for a different story. An off-field story which happens in the moments before the match begins.
The Proteas are being seen as the team which openly displays the deep divisions within it, almost with pride. Whereas sports teams in the past mostly attempted to hide the rifts and differences of opinion which inevitably exist between players, SA’s are on display for all to see.
The Proteas have made good use of the catchphrase “strength in diversity” but it doesn’t necessarily apply to the subject of the Black Lives Matter movement or the gesture of taking a knee. The photographs speak for themselves.
The impact of the images around the world has been profound and the lack of understanding of that effect among many of the white players in the team is equally profound. It is understood that no member of the squad is openly anti-BLM — statements have been issued in which they say so. But there is no comprehension of the interpretation of white men standing with their arms behind their backs while their black teammates take a knee.
On tour in the West Indies a couple of months ago another statement was prepared to explain the change of mind from the initial, collective decision not to take a knee to the current one in which players can choose their own actions.
It said: “We have decided that we will not compromise our principles for the optics of a perceived “team” gesture. We are individuals and our freedom of individual expression is enshrined in the greatest constitution in the world.
“We wish to reaffirm the Proteas’ support of BLM, a movement that stands for equality and justice across all races, ethnicities, religions and creeds.
“We hope that moving forward, the people of SA and the West Indies, the cricket-loving public and fans of the Proteas from around the world, can take our reactions and our actions as a team and as individuals within the team, with the respect that we give them.”
Many people around the world are finding it difficult to see “respect” being shown by the players who make no gesture at all.
Of course, it’s not a straightforward decision for them. It has much to do with their “communities”. One player said that he had property “vandalised” in protest at his initial decision to take a knee and another admitted that the pressure from his family not to make the gesture had been overwhelming. He apologised to his black teammates and assured them that his support for them was sincere though he would no longer be joining them.
The regular references to “religious beliefs” are curious and confusing. At no stage has anybody within cricket, players or administrators, been able to explain how taking the knee conflicts with their religious convictions. No passage in a holy book or scripture has been referred to.
Even if the players concerned are not bothered by the “optics” of the disjointed approach to supporting the movement against racism and prejudice, others are. Never mind the rest of the world, we’re talking much closer to home. At home.
One member of the newly convened Cricket SA board of directors confirmed on Monday that they were urgently planning “... a way forward. It cannot go on like this. It is embarrassing.”
It may be constitutionally impossible to force players to behave in the same way, and there is, indeed, much to be said for freedom of expression and personal choice. But just as restaurants have the right to refuse entry to unvaccinated patrons, Cricket SA has the right to select players who adhere to its preferred standards of behaviour.
When the initial decision was made for the entire Proteas squad to remain standing, even when their opposition took a knee, the black players felt they were being unfairly denied their “voice” resulting in the cringeworthy mash of personal choices.
Racism and prejudice exist everywhere in the world and it has been institutionalised in many countries, but SA has the “distinction” of being the last country on earth to formally, legally rid itself of such heinous legislation. If white cricketers are concerned about a backlash from their friends and family about taking a knee for a few seconds, they might do well to research the real sacrifices made by people of colour in the fight against apartheid.
As a team they must come together.
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