EFF leader Julius Malema. Picture: Timothy Bernard/ Independent Newspapers.
Trust Julius Malema to throw in a racial card in the middle of a triumphant moment such as the return home of the record fourth Webb Ellis Trophy.
As if dealing with naysayers arguing that the win did nothing for the poor was not enough, the EFF leader said the Springboks’ name, colours and logo were a symbol of white supremacy and needed to be changed.
The first Springbok colours were created during the 1906/7 tour of the Northern Hemisphere after captain Paul Roos decided that the team needed to create their own emblem and nickname to prevent the British press from creating one for them.
In 2008, the government voted to replace the Springbok with the Protea as the official emblem of South African rugby.
While the Springbok was a national symbol of South Africa under white minority rule, it was adopted as a nickname or mascot by a number of South African sports teams, most famously the rugby team.
And the Springbok did not fall from the sky; it is the country’s national animal.
The then-president Nelson Mandela challenged the National Sports Council’s decision to make the King Protea –our national flower – the only accepted emblem for all national sports teams, to reconsider the decision when it came to rugby.
His argument was that the Springbok for rugby would unite the country.
In 1996, the Springbok was approved as a symbol of national unity in rugby.
Fast-track to November 2023, and the majority of South Africans who lined the streets for the Boks trophy tour were black.
Who is Malema to argue with the great Madiba?
Malema should leave the Springbok alone and refrain from inciting a racially-motivated debate.
He should rather initiate correct and democratic processes if he wishes to reopen the debate on the use of the Springbok emblem for rugby.
Populist social media statements will only serve to open old wounds, some of which have since healed.
Cape Times
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