Sport for All
In South Africa Except The Blacks

Race discrimination in sport is almost universally repudiated as incompatible with the ethic of sportsmanship. But in contrast with the international character of sports competitions and sport's inter-racial traditions in the rest of the world, in South Africa the ideal is for sport to be organised rigidly along racial lines.

Selection on merit, however fundamental to sport abroad, is meaningless in South Africa when it comes to the selection of national teams, for no non-white is eligible for selection, however great his ability. For almost every South African national sporting body which admits only white South Africans there exists a parallel non-white body, generally with a non-racial constitution.

In almost all cases, however, it is the exclusively white and not the non-racial body that is affiliated to the international association governing each sport: the non-white sportsmen are confined to the locations and denied all chance of ever providing national representatives.

Non-white South Africans have gained recognition only by going abroad—a choice available to but a few players. Nevertheless, nonwhite South Africans have won professional contracts with cricket, rugby league, and soccer teams in Britain and the Continent.

Amongst these sportsmen are Basil D'Oliviera, who played for Ron Roberts's touring Commonwealth cricket team but is not eligible for selection in any representative South African side; David Samaai, who played tennis at Wimbledon but could not play in mixed matches in Johannesburg: Jake Tuli, who won the Empire Flyweight Championship in Britain but could not box for South Africa; Ron Eland, the coloured weightlifter, who represented Great Britain at the 1948 Olympic Games but was ineligible for selection in the South African Olympic team; Sewsunker Sewgolum, who twice won the Dutch Open Golf title; and Edward Johnson-Sedibe, assistant professional at the Royal Winchester Golf Club in England.

In South Africa itself nonwhite sportsmen have more to contend with than government policy and the monopolising of representative opportunities by white sports bodies.

The gross inadequacy of sports facilities has been the subject of frequent comment. The lack of facilities and the shortage of playing fields make week-day practice very difficult.

It is said that even some of the best players are only able to get a game once in three weeks because teams have to take turns in using the available grounds. In addition, non-white South Africans suffer through a lack of expert coaching and lack of experience against the visiting teams from Britain, Australia, France and New Zealand, which confine themselves to competing with white organisations only.

The Campaign For NonRacial Sport

There was a time when South African sport was organised almost entirely along racial lines—White, Coloured, African and Indian— with the while sportsman monopolising the privilege of representing South Africa at the Olympic Games and in all other international contests.

As non-white sports bodies became stronger, several of their associations formed themselves into inter-racial national bodies. Europeans were invited but rarely joined.

The new organisations began to contest the right of the exclusively while bodies to affiliation with the international association governing each sport.

Sport And The Government

The action of the International Table Tennis Federation in withdrawing recognition from the white South African body and registering the non-white non-racial body had immediate political repercussions. The Chairman of the white Table Tennis Union called for positive action to combat such activities by non-white organisations.

The table tennis decision and the wrathful comments of some Nationalist members of Parliament, together with the insecure position of the white South African body in the International Federation of Football Associations elicited a statement from Dr. T. E. Donges, Minister of the Interior, in Die Burger on June 25, 1956.

Dr. Donges denied the allegation that the South African Government interfered with non-white sport and declared that sport did not fall under the judicial control of the government.

The South African Government, the Minister maintained, was anxious to help all "legitimate Non-European sporting activities," but these must be in accordance with apartheid. Whites and nonwhites should organise their sport separately, no inter-racial competition should take place within the Union's borders, and the mixing of races in teams should be avoided. Sportsmen from overseas "should respect the Union's customs as she respected theirs."

Non-white sportsmen would not be debarred from entering South Africa to compete with nonwhites. Dr. Donges said the government would withhold support from any non-white sports body which sought international recognition and would not grant passports to non-whites guilty of "such subversive intentions."

Apart from regulations which prevented boxing between races, no laws were enacted to prevent interracial sport, and the government was very particular to emphasise that its policy merely reflected the traditions and customs of the country. In 1960, after the South African Sports Association had made representations to the Imperial Cricket Conference regarding race discrimination in the affiliated white South African Cricket Association, this body wrote to the Minister of the Interior, Mr. J. F. Naude, for a statement of the government's attitude.

In a reply dated June 16, 1960, the Minister stated:

The Government does not favour inter-racial team competitions within the borders of the Union and will discourage such competitions taking place as being contrary to the traditional policy of the Union—as accepted to all races in the Union.

The policy of separate development is in accordance with the traditional South African custom that Whites and non-Whites should organise their sporting activities separately. The inclusion of different races in the same team would therefore be contrary to established and accepted custom.

The South African Sports Association claimed that the Minister did not issue an express order that the Cricket Association should exclude non-white players, so the while cricketing body must take responsibility for their restrictive membership policy, Questioned in Parliament, Mr. Naude repeated the terms of Dr. Donges's earlier statement, but made it clear that visiting white teams would not be permitted to play non-whiles.

In February, 1962, the Minster of the Interior, Senator de Klerk, stated that as far back as 1956 his predecessor had explained that the policy of separate development expressed the South African custom that Whites and Non-Whites should organise their sporting activities separately; that there should be no inter-racial competitions within our borders; and that the mixing of races in teams to take part in competition within the Republic and abroad should be avoided. This is still the policy of the Government.

The Minister later amplified his statement, saying that the government could not approve the participation of mixed White and Non-White teams from the Republic in world sports competitions, nor would racially mixed teams from other countries be allowed into South Africa.

The Senator also indicated the government's policy on mixed race sport even more bluntly and warned sports administrators that, if this policy was not observed, the government might introduce a law to ban multi-racial sport.

In accordance with stated policy the South African Government has consistently refused passports to representatives of non-white sports bodies seeking to present their case to the international organisation controlling their sport. In March. 1959, on the eve of its departure for the world championships, a non-white table tennis team had its passports seized.

In recent years the South African Government has borne down heavily upon individuals and organisations which encourage sports activities considered to be out of keeping with local conventions. In 1960 the homes of the leading officers of the South African Sports Association were raided and its files and records removed by the police, Mr. Dennis Brutus, the Sports Association's honorary secretary and moving spirit, was placed under hopelessly crippling restrictions.

He was banned from teaching and journalism by which he earned his living; he could not attend social or political gatherings: he could not be quoted in South Africa; he could not leave the magisterial district of Johannesburg even to visit his family in Port Elizabeth; and he had to report weekly to the police.

In September, 1963, while waiting trial for an alleged infringement of the ban on attending meetings, Brutus left South Africa, and in an attempt to reach Baden Baden to plead the case of nonwhite athletes before the International Olympic Committee was captured by Portuguese security police and returned to South Africa. He was shot and seriously injured by the police in Johannesburg white allegedly trying to escape.