Willemse walk-out symbolic of workplace race issues

The massive, almost entirely positive, reaction to Ashwin Willemse’s walk-out on live TV on Saturday night has quickly become symbolic of the problems faced by blacks in SA workplaces, and has made the former Springbok wing a catalyst for change, notes Legalbrief. Willemse’s dramatic action – seen as a stand against unfair and unequal treatment in the workplace, was quickly backed by Sports Minister Toko Xasa, who called on SuperSport to suspend his fellow pannellists, Nick Mallett and Naas Botha. Mallett is a former Springbok player and coach and Botha is a former Springbok captain and flyhalf. The incident happened during discussion on the Lions’ 42-24 win over the Brumbies at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Saturday. In a statement‚ Xasa also condemned the continued behaviour of white entitlement in rugby, notes a report on the TimesLIVE site. ‘This behaviour of entitlement by some white South Africans who continue to think that their whiteness represent better (sic) must come to an end. If it was not for a barbaric nonsensical apartheid system that privileged them we could not have implemented (a) quota system to normalise an otherwise abnormal system.’ She said the department noted that the quota system had been largely unsuccessful in bringing about an effectively transformed sport system and this caused substantial damage for many black players who were labelled as ‘tokens’. ‘It is clear that Ashwin Willemse was referred (to) as a quota player by his fellow panellist despite his many successes in the field of play. I call upon SuperSport to suspend the two panellists while they are busy with a full investigation. The continued appearance of Mallett and Botha will be seen as an endorsement of their alleged racist behaviour,’ said Xasa.

Willemse walked out of the studio after saying he was ‘not going to be patronised by two individuals who played their rugby during the apartheid era’. A Cape Times report says the DA joined the ANC in support of the former Springbok wing, with DA leader Mmusi Maimane tweeting: ‘What @Ashwinwillemse experienced yesterday is still sadly an experience for too many South Africans. We must build an equal society, where we confine to history a system of racial superiority and inferiority. We must continue to pursue a diverse SA however difficult it is.’ Willemse also received strong support from former Boks, including Gio Aplon. Aplon said on Twitter: ‘I believe all Ashwin Willemse wanted was to be treated fairly and equally by his counterparts, nothing more and nothing less, and for standing up for that I salute him.' Before he walked off the set, Willemse said: ‘I think it’s important for me, because I’ve been in the game for a long time like most of us here. As a player, I was labelled a quota player for a long time, and I’ve earned, and worked hard to earn, my own respect in this game. So I’m not going to be patronised by two individuals (Mallett and Botha) who played their rugby during the apartheid era, a segregated era, and come and undermine. So for me, I’ve had my fair share and I can’t work with people who undermine other people.’ SuperSport spokesperson Clinton van der Berg said the broadcaster would issue a full statement today. It is conducting an investigation to ascertain all the facts. Columnist Mark Keohane has strongly backed Willemse, writing: ‘Willemse’s protest is in the subtle and overt prejudices he has faced in a studio environment over a sustained period of time. His stance is to be applauded as a catalyst for change; not (to be) further belittled through ridicule.’

AfriForum found it regrettable that an outburst with an apparent racial undertone had happened during the broadcast, according to its CEO Kallie Kriel. He added that AfriForum believed in a society where mutual recognition and respect between communities were promoted. ‘Yesterday evening’s incident‚ however‚ can only exacerbate racial polarisation,’ he said yesterday, notes a TimesLIVE report. He said it was ‘especially worrisome’ that Xasa and Maimane had – in their reaction to ‘this regrettable incident’ – decided that Botha and Mallett should carry the blame. This despite no investigation into the incident yet. ‘AfriForum regrets that anti-white sentiment in the country is already so rife that white people are automatically blamed for whatever goes wrong‚’ Kriel said.

South Africans need to come together and fight a mentality of racism whenever it rears its ugly head, ANC national chair Gwede Mantashe urged yesterday, according to a Daily Dispatch report. Mantashe was reacting to the Willemse walk-out. ‘The fight against the racist mentality must be intensified on all fronts especially in workplaces. There is a strong feeling among some whites that blacks do not deserve the accolades they get and that they have been done a favour. That is a psychological warfare that we must gear ourselves for and fight it every time it presents itself, even in workplaces,’ he said.