It was not “security threats” but “plain antisemitsm” that led Cricket SA (CSA) to “arbitrarily” strip David Teeger of his captaincy of the Under19 Protea squad, said the SA Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD) in a statement released after a meeting with CSA today.
During the meeting CSA “categorically failed to provide credible evidence that there had been any real security threats to the upcoming Under19 World Cup tournament on account of David Teeger being captain of the SA team”, said Prof Karen Milner national chairperson of the SAJBD.
Last Friday, a week ahead of the start of the tournament in SA, CSA removed Teeger as captain, but retained him in the team. In a media statement CSA said it acted because of concerns about possible protests at the tournament following remarks Teeger made in support of Israeli soldiers last year while he was receiving an award at the ABSA Jewish Achiever Rising Star Awards.
Following a complaint by the Palestine Solidarity Alliance about Teeger’s remarks, the CSA instituted an independent inquiry by Advocate Wim Trengrove who cleared the cricketer of any wrongdoing, and said that his comments were protected by the constitutional tenet of freedom of speech.
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The SAJBD said in today’s statement that CSA’s failure to provide credible evidence of a security threat, and its “vacillating and contradictory responses” to questions reinforce the board’s view that the CSA’s alleged security concerns are “trumped up and bogus”.
“Moreover, even if there had been credible information of a possible threat, CSA could, had it chosen, taken appropriate steps to deal with it, such as moving the games or providing additional security.
The only explanation for why a young Jewish cricketer was arbitrarily stripped of his captaincy must therefore be plain antisemitism. There are good reasons why credible sporting bodies desist from political interference. This should have been the case with CSA, but unfortunately, it was not. Rather, we are seeing high-level political interference with a sinister, discriminatory agenda.
“The fact that the International Cricket Council is allowing this tournament to go ahead is tacit endorsement of CSA’s action. This recalls the infamous surrender of the International Olympics Committee to demands by Nazi Germany that Jews be excluded from participating in the 1936 Berlin Olympic games. Posterity will judge the ICC similarly harshly for its stance.
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“We call on CSA to immediately reinstate David Teeger to his position as captain of the SA u19 team. We further call on the international community to protest against this blatant act of antisemitic discrimination on the part of Cricket SA.”
Meanwhile, the DA, which is skeptical of CSA’s “security concerns” explanation for removing Teeger as captain, has challenged CSA to reverse its decision by Friday, failing which the party will escalate the matter to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC).
CSA’s independent board chairperson Lawson Naidoo said its decision to demote Teeger “was based on expert security advice and we as CSA are not in the position to second-guess that advice”, reports News24.
“In the same way, we didn’t seek to second guess advocate Wim Trengove’s opinion. In both circumstances, we followed the independent advice we’ve been given.
“In that regard, CSA has been consistent in that manner. A few weeks ago, we were being called Zionist sympathisers and now we’re being called anti-Semitic.” said Naidoo.
The SAJBD is hosting a public protest outside Cricket SA’s offices in Melrose Estate, Johannesburg from 4pm to 6pm tomorrow (Thursday January 18). You can register here to join the protest.
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