President Jacob Zuma: Global Watch Summit Against Racism in Sports

21 Nov 2014

Former Presidents of the Republic Mr Kgalema Motlanthe and Mr Thabo Mbeki,
Founder of Global Watch, Mr Tokyo Sexwale
Chairman of the Nelson Mandela Foundation
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Receive my heartfelt greetings this morning

Let me extend a special welcome to all our international and special guests present here including His Excellency Mr Sheikh Faisal Mubarak Al Thani, Ms E Bozkurt, Ms Navi Pillay, Professor Njabulo Ndebele and Dr Sam Ramsamy.

Your presence at this summit confirms that the struggle against racism and all other forms of discrimination remains crucial and pivotal as we build a better world

South Africa is honoured to host this event.

This year we are celebrating 20 years of democracy and 20 years since we defeated apartheid, an evil system of government based on institutionalised racism which was described by the United Nations as a crime against humanity. Based on their race, South Africans were told where they could stay, live, go to school, which hospital to go to, where to play sports and literally every activity was determined on the colour of one's skin.

This form of racism rendered the black majority as pariahs in the country of their birth. In his seminal address on receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1961, Chief Albert Luthuli described South Africa as follows: "Here the cult of race superiority and of white supremacy is worshipped like a god. Few white people escape corruption and many of their children learn to believe that white men are unquestionably superior, efficient clever, industrious and capable; that black men are, equally unquestionably, inferior, slothful, stupid, evil and clumsy''. He added: "Perhaps in no other country on the continent is white supremacy asserted with greater vigour and determination and a sense of righteousness''.

The late Strini Moodley, who dedicated his life to the struggle against racism in South Africa and was imprisoned on Robben Island once offered a compelling definition of racism which is relevant today as it was during the apartheid days. He said: "Racism is a disease suffered by a group or groups of people who use real or imaginary differences to oppress another group or groups economically, politically, socially and culturally in order to sustain themselves in power. In short, racism is based on the notion of power, control and greed."

When South Africans cast their votes in 1994, we were declaring that this land of Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Helen Joseph, Harry Gwala and others was turning its back on racism and all related intolerances. We entered a new era, and began to build a united, democratic non-racial and non-sexist South Africa.

Given our experiences, the campaign against racism in sport finds a natural home in South Africa. We have experienced it, we hate it, and we are determined to fight racism wherever it rears its ugly head, because we know its impact. We know that it can destroy nations and peoples if it is not eradicated. We are therefore proud today to add our voices to the billions others throughout the world that are determined to do everything possible to say NO and to put an end to racism in sports.

We are forming part of this important global movement to say NO to racism in sports precisely because we fully appreciate the power and influence of sports in world affairs. As was observed by our departed world icon, former President Nelson Mandela: "Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does.

It speaks to youth in a language they understand." It is this understanding that makes us even more determined to jealously guard against the emergence of racist tendencies in sport. The world cannot allow sports to be used to perpetuate ideas which divide humanity and limit the ability of people to work together for development regardless of race, skin colour, creed, religion, gender and sexual orientation.

There have been unfortunate and shocking incidents of blatant racism in sports being displayed around the world, in tennis, basketball and soccer to name a few. We call upon the entire progressive humanity to frown upon racism in sports and to do everything humanly possible to put an end to it.

Ladies and gentlemen, whilst this summit is specifically about racism in sports, we need to take our discussions further in order to deal sufficiently with the root causes of racism in all facets of social life. In other words, our point of departure should be the understanding that racism in sports will not end unless our actions to achieve its end are related to efforts to exorcize the demon of racism in society in general. I am saying this because what happens in sports is a true reflection in microcosm of what happens in society generally.

Thus, this should remind us of the ideological correctness of the erstwhile South African Council on Sports whose slogan argued that there could be "no normal sport in an abnormal society", referring to apartheid. We must appreciate that sport is played in various political, social, cultural and economic contexts and is therefore not insulated from the influences of these contexts.

It is against this background that sports people must not just defend their sports against racism but must skilfully use sports to actively participate in the struggle to eradicate racism in society as pursued by the entire progressive humanity.

Former President Nelson Mandela further observed that: "Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than governments in breaking racial boundaries." We experienced this in South Africa. From the Rugby World Cup to the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup, sport has proven to be a powerful instrument of bringing South Africans together, of promoting unity in a country that had been forcefully divided through legislated racism.

Consistent with these instructive words of our departed world icon, we must use sports to undermine the emergence of movements based on racism and discriminatory ideas. We are thus here to declare a Zero tolerance for racism in sports. Sports men and women must know that there is no scientific basis that can be used to advance the notion of racial superiority and inferiority in sport or anywhere else. Pigmentation has absolutely nothing to do with a person's intellect, character and talents.

What makes one good or bad at any sport is not their race or the colour of their skin. To attribute a person's talents or lack thereof to his or her race would be to interpret, like a delusional person, figments of one's imagination as reality. We call on all sports loving people and supporters to embark on a process of introspection and ideological cleansing that will heal or protect them from this disease of racism. We applaud Global Watch as you are forcing people to come to terms to the fact that racism does exist in sport. It is not an easy task.

The reality we should face is that racists, in every aspect of society are always in denial. They take time to acknowledge that they may be in the wrong, they turn it into a joke, they claim to have been misquoted or that their comments have been blown out of proportion, when the simplest thing they would have to acknowledge is that they need help.

The society is also quick to create reasons for their racist behaviour. In this way, the problem continues and continues. The Global Watch campaign is thus a most welcome intervention in the fight against the scourge of racism. We are happy that among the positives identified by Global Watch is the establishment of a Global Barometer on racism which is meant to check the adherence to the charter by sporting personalities and other stakeholders.

We hope this barometer, will not only punish perpetrators, but will also seek to educate those still caught up in primitive ways of seeing human beings. Another equally important issue we must deal with is access to certain sports at a professional level which may be skewed along racial lines. We must work hard to ensure that there is no single sport in the world that is seen as the exclusive preserve of a particular racial group. There must be equal opportunities in sports that are not engineered on the basis of race. Let us collectively give a big Red Card to Racism in Sports. Let us say NO to racism in sports. Let us march forth to non-racialism.

Let me again close with the words of Chief Albert Luthuli; "Our vision has always been that of a non-racial democratic South Africa which upholds the rights of all who live in our country to remain there as full citizens with equal rights and responsibilities with all others. For the consummation of this ideal we have laboured unflinchingly. We shall continue to labour unflinchingly.'' We wish Global Watch all the best in this noble campaign against racism. You have our full support.

I thank you.

Issued by The Presidency, November 21 2014

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