Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Is This Racial Abuse?


South African Herschelle Gibbs has been banned for two tests for making derogatory comments about Pakistanis during Sunday's play in the first test.


"Gibbs has been charged under Level 3.3 of the Code which prohibits using...'any language or gestures that offends, insults, humiliates, intimidates, threatens, disparages or vilifies another person on the basis of that person's race, religion, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin'," an ICC statement said.


Cricket South Africa earlier released a statement saying Gibbs would appear at a separate, internal disciplinary hearing.
"CSA has investigated the matter, and we have heard the remarks made by Herschelle Gibbs in response to verbal abuse directed by a number of Pakistan supporters at Paul Harris while he was fielding on the boundary," the statement quoted CSA chief executive Gerald Majola as saying.
"Herschelle says these remarks were for the ears only of his team mates in his proximity, and were directed in general terms at that section of the crowd that had verbally abused Paul Harris," Majola added.
"He has apologised if he has caused offence to anyone."

This is a bit harsh as Gibbs was making a comment about some idiots in the crowd that had been hurling racial abuse at both him and spin bowler Harris. The comments were made in the middle of the field to his team mates at a time that the stump mikes were supposed to be off. They were not made directly to the spectators and they were the kind of comment anyone of us would have made under the same circumstances.

So what did he say? This remains a mystery as there is no record available of the comments but amongst allegations is that he referred to "fucking Pakistanis", "animals" and "hyenas". Quite understandable as this section of the crowd were waving Pakitani flags and were behaving like animals. I'm not so sure that there was any behavior similar to that of a hyena and, anyway, who would want to insult a hyena by comparing it to these Pakistani supporters?

Gibbs, not the sharpest knife in the drawer, is of "mixed" race and more likely would have been at the receiving end of racial taunts throughout his life and would be more sensitive about this sort of behavior than most of his team mates.

2 comments:

MathewK said...

If it had been a bunch of white supporters taunting a pakistani player, they'd be kicked out, all flags banned, the army would be called in to deal with any laughter, clapping or vicious beach ball attacks.

And another thing about @#$!@#$ pakistanis, that's a country, not a race, besides what was he supposed call them, effing russians or something.

Ranx said...

I saw some footage with the audio the other day and, unless there was more than they played, the whole thing is a crock of shit. He called the "supporters" (now there's an irony) "animals" and "fucking hyenas" that should go back to the zoo where they belong. The only thing that will hang him is right at the end, in an almost exasperated tone, he mutters "fucking pakistanis". I'm not going to run crying home to mummy if I get called a "fucking Australian" and I don't see how hyena or animal can be deemed racial epithets?