Is Mark Boucher an irredeemable racist? No-one can answer that question definitively. But there is no doubt he has been party to racist conduct.
Telford Vice | Cape Town
SOUTH African cricket’s struggles with racism took a great leap forward on Monday when Mark Boucher acknowledged, accepted and apologised for his behaviour in the teams in which he played. That made him the first figure from that era to shoulder blame for what has been exposed as the toxic culture of dressingrooms of the past.
CSA’s Social Justice and Nation-building (SJN) project, where hearings started on July 5, has heard disturbing testimony of racist abuse suffered by black and brown members of the team as perpetrated by their white counterparts. Boucher has been the target of some of the allegations, notably that he was part of squads — made up of players of all races — who sang a song during fines meetings in which Paul Adams was referred to as “brown shit”.
“In that environment, lots of us had nicknames for each other which had a racial connotation and we all called each other those names — the black African guys, the African guys, the Asian guys, the white guys,” Boucher wrote in his affidavit to the SJN, which he released on Monday. “I was also given a nickname which made reference to my colour by one or two players but I can categorically say that I did not give Mr Adams the name ‘brown shit’. I don’t know who gave him the name.”
Boucher’s nickname in the same dressingroom was “wit naai”, an Afrikaans term that translates to “white fuck”. That is undeniably offensive, abusive and racial, but in a society where whites remain at the top of the pyramid in social and economic terms it cannot be construed as part of the systemic racism that continues to blight the country more than 27 years after the first democratic elections. It does not make Boucher a victim of racism. Instead it illustrates that whites were and are caught in the same ugliness that stops South Africa — and South Africans of all races — from achieving full potential in every way.
But whites are born privileged, which affords them advantages that aren’t automatically given to their black and brown compatriots, and they tend, because of generational wealth, to be able to buy a better life. Whites have the means to pretend the poison of racism does not exist. That means inequality — and thus racism — is given free rein to flourish. Even whites who would be aghast to be labelled racist balk at countenancing these truths.
“I have listened to the hurt some of my teammates felt, the feeling of exclusion and some totally unacceptable and inappropriate examples of alleged racism that they endured. I apologise unreservedly for any offensive conduct, real or perceived, that has been attributed to me. We, the team, coaching staff, selectors and CSA, during the period in question, should have been more sensitive and created an environment where all members of the team could raise and talk about these issues without allowing them to fester, as they clearly have.”
The use of the phrase “real or perceived” will stick in many craws. It could be explained as an attempt to cover all the bases by resorting to the kind of legalese that gets in the way of proper communication. But does that mean Boucher disbelieves the people who have made claims against him? Or that he and his lawyers don’t care to know the difference between “real” and “perceived” racism? What is that difference, anyway? And since when do we rely on white people to tell us what racism is? How would they know?
But only those who don’t need reasons to oppose Boucher serving as South Africa’s coach — and they are legion, many of them giddy with irrationality — will try to use that blunder to hang him. That would be a grave mistake. There is much to value in his 14-page submission, not only about an individual but also about white thinking at the death of official apartheid and the birth of the invariably flawed reality that replaced it and is now failing to meet most South Africans’ expectations.
Boucher was born less than six months after the start of the Soweto Uprising of 1976, when anywhere between 176 and 700 people died at the hands of the authorities rather than accept Afrikaans as a medium of instruction in schools, as the apartheid government had decreed. He was too young, by a few months, to vote in the 1994 elections. But by then he had spent almost 18 years growing up in the last days of white supremacist rule. Just more than three years later he made his Test debut.
“I was completely naive at the time I was selected to play for South Africa,” Boucher wrote. “I was a young man, barely out of my teens. In hindsight, we were all naive; the players, the coaches, the management. We were not only naive but were also ill-equipped to deal with the new environment in which we found ourselves. It was six years after South Africa’s readmission into international cricket and five years after Omar Henry [South Africa’s first black or brown international] had been selected to play for the Proteas.
“To my certain knowledge there had not been any briefing or discussion by CSA as to how we deal with the legacy of apartheid, how players and management should deal with the additional pressures placed on them by the country and the media, how we ensure that the faults of the past do not occur again and how we ensure that there is equality, respect, empathy and inclusiveness in the team. There was no guidance, no culture discussions, no open fora and no one appointed by CSA to deal with the awkwardness or questions or pressures that were being experienced by the players and, in particular, by the players of colour.
“While I was certainly naive, I do wish to state categorically, that nothing I have ever said or done was motivated by malice and was certainly not motivated by racism. I have never felt superior to any of my teammates, or any other person for that matter, because of the colour of my skin. I always acted in the best interests of the team, the team that we all desperately wanted to be the best team in the world. However, I can now, with the benefit of hindsight and maturity, appreciate that I may have said or done things as a young man that offended some of my teammates. For this I apologise sincerely and unreservedly.”
Racism is not only the big, bad stuff you can see coming at you. It’s also everything else that has been designed to ensure you, solely because you are black or brown, are on a lesser footing than whites. You can see it at work in neighbourhoods where the residents are almost all white and the workers almost all black or brown. It’s in whites looking straight through a black or brown homeless person, but being taken aback if they notice that the homeless person is white.
Whether Boucher has reached that level of introspection over his privilege and his whiteness isn’t known, but he is clearly wrestling with the real world: “Having played for South Africa as a cricketer has been an exceptional experience. If I had not had that experience, I would not be the person that I am and my life would be vastly different. I feel privileged to have experienced what I have and I deeply regret playing a role in not seeing or doing more for those who could have had a similar experience.”
Is Boucher an irredeemable racist? No-one, not even the man himself, can answer that question definitively. But there is no doubt that he has been party to racist conduct. Rare indeed, if there are any at all, would be white South Africans in his age range — he turns 45 in December — who have never been guilty of racism. Or, just as bad, known of racism and done nothing to fight it.
Many of those white South Africans are, like Boucher, in prominent positions of influence and authority. Because of the skewed system, they have skills and experience. Now what? Should they be banished? If they refuse to see the evil of their wilful ignorance, yes. Or at least relieved of their roles. We cannot go forward with them, only backward. So there is hope in what Boucher says he wants to help build.
“The Proteas are now in an entirely different space to that which they were in when I started my career. I have, in my current role as South African cricket coach, been involved in intense and meaningful workshops and discussions about how to create an atmosphere of inclusiveness and a culture of respect and empathy between all players. Everyone associated with CSA must acknowledge that we can and must learn from the past. This is the reason that I have attempted to make contact with Mr Adams since learning of the allegations made by him concerning me.
“As I have already said, I would be most grateful to be afforded an opportunity to discuss in a forum which is conducive to honest and open discussion the allegations on a one-on-one basis directly with him and, of course, any other ex-team-mates that I offended. I want to learn from their experiences and perspectives and where necessary, if I have offended them, sincerely apologise. It is important to me that these relationships are mended.”
Tellingly for someone who played in three World Cups and had his career ended by injury on the eve of the Test series that would confirm South Africa as format’s top team, Boucher felt disunity off the field has influenced what happened on it: “With the benefit of hindsight, it is most distressing to me that, while we may have achieved many of our goals on the field in my playing days, we did not have a team environment where all the players felt comfortable and valued. Had we had a better environment we would undoubtedly have achieved more on the field.”
That is being addressed: “We organised a camp in the Kruger National Park [last August] and agreed that the Proteas, as the South African national cricket team, should never again be a place where players experience isolation or are unable to express their feelings. As Proteas we have come to realise that our diversity is one of our unique assets. And while none of the current players indicated that they had been subject to racism within the team environment, it was acknowledged that issues of race had plagued our sport and that meaningful conversations needed to take place.”
These are beginnings. Regarding the Boucher issue as settled now that he has answered his SJN accusers would be a catastrophe. Those “meaningful conversations” need to continue. Now and forever.
First published by Cricbuzz.
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