David EdwardsSouth Africa Should Accept Technology, And Leave Racism Out Of the Game
January 15th 2007 12:58
As South Africa looks set to cruise to a simple Test win on the fifth day of their match against Pakistan, but the match has already taken a bad turn due to racist slurs and comments allegedly made by the Proteas on the fourth day.
The comments, which range from slurs such as ‘animals’ ‘hyenas’ and ‘they should be sent back to the zoo’, were picked up by the stump cam microphone and broadcasted around the world with the cricket coverage.
The slurs have created a storm of controversy, and despite South Africa’s excuses, their seems to be no end in sight.
A number of defenses have been raised by the Proteas, including that the racial comments were actually directed towards a number of Pakistan supporters in the crowd, and not the Pakistan players. Whilst that defence does not raise the seriousness of the comments, South Africa have gone one step further, attacking the technology of stump cam, claiming that they are “a bit intrusive”.
South Africa’s coach Mickey Arthur took the opportunity to attack the microphones in the stumps, stating that they are intrusive and adding “What is said on the field, should stay on the field”.
Now personally I believe that attacking the technology is absolutely ridiculous. We are now living in a modern world where nothing can be kept “on the field”. Gone are the days where a number of small black and white cameras are dotted around the field, and now we have a major number of cameras and microphones around the ground that are able to pick up every word.
True, it does broadcast some comments that should not be heard (like the infamous ‘can’t bowl, can’t throw’ comment from Australia or this current saga), but I think this helps the game, rather than hinders it. Making sure that each player are constantly being monitored whilst representing their country is a good thing, and if it help eliminate racism from a sport that has endured its fair share of controversies over its long history is always a good thing.
What South Africa said is horrible. Regardless of if it was directed to a couple of unruly supporters, or even to a single idiot in the crowd, it does not stop their phrases being damaging to the team, or the country.
Especially with South Africa’s dark political and sporting history, constantly checkered with sagas such as this one, it should not be tolerated. Racism is one of the biggest things to try and combat in all forms of sport around the world, and whilst many codes are making the right steps to eliminate it from their game, cricket still has a long way to go.
South Africa should be made an example of how seriously the cricketing board takes racism in their sport. Comments like this should never even reach the microphones on the field, and the South Africa players should not be making this comments.
And as for keeping it “on the field” is simply ludicrous. What they are implying is that comments like this are alright if no one else who will be offended hear it, and that is not the case. Whilst the microphones might be intrusive, it seems to be the only effective way of eliminating racism in world cricket.
Until next time, sports minds.
The comments, which range from slurs such as ‘animals’ ‘hyenas’ and ‘they should be sent back to the zoo’, were picked up by the stump cam microphone and broadcasted around the world with the cricket coverage.
The slurs have created a storm of controversy, and despite South Africa’s excuses, their seems to be no end in sight.
South Africa’s coach Mickey Arthur took the opportunity to attack the microphones in the stumps, stating that they are intrusive and adding “What is said on the field, should stay on the field”.
Now personally I believe that attacking the technology is absolutely ridiculous. We are now living in a modern world where nothing can be kept “on the field”. Gone are the days where a number of small black and white cameras are dotted around the field, and now we have a major number of cameras and microphones around the ground that are able to pick up every word.
True, it does broadcast some comments that should not be heard (like the infamous ‘can’t bowl, can’t throw’ comment from Australia or this current saga), but I think this helps the game, rather than hinders it. Making sure that each player are constantly being monitored whilst representing their country is a good thing, and if it help eliminate racism from a sport that has endured its fair share of controversies over its long history is always a good thing.
What South Africa said is horrible. Regardless of if it was directed to a couple of unruly supporters, or even to a single idiot in the crowd, it does not stop their phrases being damaging to the team, or the country.
Especially with South Africa’s dark political and sporting history, constantly checkered with sagas such as this one, it should not be tolerated. Racism is one of the biggest things to try and combat in all forms of sport around the world, and whilst many codes are making the right steps to eliminate it from their game, cricket still has a long way to go.
South Africa should be made an example of how seriously the cricketing board takes racism in their sport. Comments like this should never even reach the microphones on the field, and the South Africa players should not be making this comments.
And as for keeping it “on the field” is simply ludicrous. What they are implying is that comments like this are alright if no one else who will be offended hear it, and that is not the case. Whilst the microphones might be intrusive, it seems to be the only effective way of eliminating racism in world cricket.
Until next time, sports minds.
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