Letter: Follow Madiba’s example

I DO not think it was coincidental that the movie Invictus was screened on Freedom Day by DStv. However, as I watched it again and saw how Madiba used the game of rugby to unite South Africans of all races it made an absolute mockery of our sport minister’s ban on certain sports federations bidding for international events.

All that Madiba did has been undone. He, Fikile Mbalula, has taken the path of confrontation that will create a racial divide in South African sport in all forms and all sporting federations because of his personal racial prejudice.

South Africa is the only country in the world where selection is based on ethnicity, where the colour of one’s skin determines whether or not one is qualified to represent one’s country on the international stage. That was the way it was before 1994.

In 1995 Madiba, with the world’s eyes upon the Rugby World Cup, and at great risk to his own popularity, and against his people’s thoughts and wishes, placed the country’s needs for reconciliation before everything else. Never before and never since has this nation been more united in brotherhood or commonality.

Transformation will never come from the top down, it will only come from the bottom up. One has just to see how Craven Week has changed as well as the selection of our Junior Boks and the Blitz Bokke to see that the best players are being selected without any racial prejudice.

It is happening at provincial, Currie Cup and Super Rugby levels too. However, it is based on ability, not colour and that must be the bottom line.

When you get to the top echelons of any sport selection can really only be based on one’s prowess, not colour.

My only recommendation to Minister Mbalula is to sit down and watch the movie Invictus and then take a leaf out of the great man’s book. Place the interest of unifying South Africa through sport, and especially rugby and cricket first, because all you are doing now is fanning the flames of racial division.

However, maybe that is what you want to do especially because of the ANC’s current fall from grace due to your much, correctly, maligned president, Jacob Zuma.