Hannes Wessels
What is astonishing, and dare I say, disappointing, about the contagion sweeping English cricket in the wake of Azeem Rafiq’s allegations, is the cowering response from players, fans, administrators and politicians. Of course this all in the face of a media that is resolute in its determination to tell only one side of the story; but to give them their due, there have been few if any rebuttals to report, so the entire nation appears to accept that English cricket is played and run by a bunch of mean-spirited racists, who do little other than make life miserable for foreign players of BAME descent.
Where Gary Ballance and I come from we might be forgiven for biting our tongues when pilloried but as Europeans in our homeland we are outnumbered by roughly 1000 to 1 so it is fair to say the odds are not in our favour in the event, we make a nuisance of ourselves by complaining of our treatment. However this is not the case in England where white people, of ostensibly Christian persuasion, are in the majority, albeit a dwindling majority. Despite this, and despite the fact, many perceive, or at least suspect, the unfairness of what has been meted out to Ballance, there has been absolutely no show of public support, from fellow players, supporters or management; the reaction has been an unedifying one with associates running for cover in the hope they avoid a dreaded portrayal as racist.
It appears this has not worked very well. Former Captain Michael Vaughn has lost his job for allegedly referring to ‘you lot’. Current captain Joe Root, who commiserated with the critics when pace-bowler Ollie Robinson was ‘outed’ for an innocuous post on social media 10 years ago, was lying low when Mr. Rafiq named him as an accomplice because he was present when the word ‘Paki’ was used and failed to censure the culprit. So Root is back on his knees. Former player and commentator, David Lloyd, who parades his ‘woke’ credentials with pride, has also been fingered for disparaging comments about Pakistani players contributing little to club culture and being reluctant to pay their subs. He was probably correct, but he has declined to defend his views and taken the knee.
In his hour of anguish, he can expect no sympathy from me or many of my countrymen; we well remember his niggardly behaviour following England’s defeat in Harare in 1992 when a scorned ‘chicken farmer’ by the name of Eddo Brandes destroyed the English batting and ushered in a surprise victory for the Zimbabweans. Unsurprisingly, then captain, Mike Atherton whose lack of sportsmanship was on show that day when he refused to be interviewed and could not find anything gracious to say, has made a voluble contribution to the chorus of condemnation aimed at Ballance.
It speaks volumes about the brilliant deviousness of the people who have run the schools, universities and the media in this once formidable island nation, that so many can be subdued by so few. They have been persuaded that despite their history of unparalleled greatness, they should feel no pride, only guilt and be brought to their knees in grovelling submission on the mere utterances of a man who owes his allegiance, not to their Queen, or the country they share, but to a religion. A dogma openly committed to the eradication, by violence, if necessary, of the values and traditions espoused by the very people who have kindly given him a home and an opportunity to prosper, that he almost certainly would not have had in his country of birth. What one wonders, would be the response in Pakistan, to a white Christian cricketer making similar allegations and demands? Would Ballance be compensated if he demanded redress because his provenance was demeaned or he was called an ‘infidel,’ ‘gora’ or ‘kafir’?
Some questions that require answers: If England is so harrowing a place, why is it so sought after as a workplace for professional cricketers from India, Pakistan and the Caribbean? Why has it taken Mr. Rafiq so long to register his distress? Why did he not complain the moment he was first referred to as a ‘Paki’. He has been playing cricket for Yorkshire since 2008 but only decided to tell his tale of woe upon losing form and losing his place; but this anomaly is also ignored by the craven inquisitors. Why is he allowed to make anti-semitic comments referring to Jews being miserly and avoid censure? Do people of Pakistani origin have different rights to those of people of Jewish descent?
And since when did abbreviating a country’s name become racist and offensive; who are the high priests of righteousness who have actually decreed thus? If ‘Paki’ is so devastating to a man’s sense of wellbeing does the same apply to use of the word ‘Aussie’ with respect to Australians, or ‘Zimbos’ when referring to Zimbabweans? Maybe the Irish ‘Paddys’ and Welsh ‘Taffys’ should seek an audience with MPS too? In the modern progressive world there are evidently different rules for different races and some people are simply not allowed to be victims.
The fact that the response from the players and the people who run the game has been so gutless seems set to ruin this great sport in fundamental ways. Selectors will have to consider the collateral consequences of dropping players ‘of colour’. Players of different races will almost certainly distance themselves from one another for fear of making an ‘offensive’ remark or using a pejorative. The joys of convivial comradeship in the club after the game are probably a thing of the past. Good natured ‘leg-pulling’ among close friends has become a social minefield.
And the days when the cricket pitch was an unruly place where tough guys armed with bats and a ball, met to do battle, where no quarter was given, when they slugged and slagged it out with verbal assaults that brought so much colour to the game, then took their bumps and bruises to the bar, had a beer and enjoyed the good cheer of a sporting brotherhood, are now over.
AUTHORS NOTE:
In an earlier version of this article The End Of The Great Game – Africa Unauthorised I was led to believe that Mr. Rafiq appeared in the photo appearing at the top of the article. This appears to be incorrect and I apologise. Our featured image designer also wishes to apologise for the mistake.
Claudia Mendoza, (co-chief executive of the Jewish Leadership Council) and Marie van der Zyl, (president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews) were both quick to exonerate Mr. Rafiq, regarding his anti-Semitic messages from 2011, according to media sources. We can only speculate, but why would they publicly respond in this way? It’s perplexing that educated commentators can so brazenly apply double standards when meting out ‘justice proposals’ to all the concerned parties. It is, however, not surprising, given that just this week, even oximeters (medical devices used to detect oxygen levels) in the UK have been declared ‘racist’, because, and I quote: “a lot of these medical devices, even some of the drugs, some of the procedures, some of the textbooks, most of them are put together in majority white countries.” Houston, we have a problem!!!
Shane – and I appreciate this is going off topic somewhat – oximeters are not racially non-neutral BECAUSE they are built in majority white countries. Simply the method of their operation means that they tend to give more accurate results on lighter skin, as pigmentation can affect the absorption of the light beam used, therefore are more likely to give ‘false healthy’ readings in non-white patients. The connection is that, if devised, designed and tested in an environment where the majority of experiments are undertaken on white people, then such a limitation is less likely to be discovered prior to their use in the field. Should you ever get through to Houston, do be sure to advise them that the problem is that you have read something which was perhaps constructed in a very specific way to entice readers to pick out a particular colourful thread, and have committed only that emotive reaction to memory rather than the grey logical context against which it sits.
OMG Shane that sound terrible. As a nurse I work with oximeters all the time and i’ve never heard anyone describe them as racist. Who was it that declared that, and why?
A good article Hannes but I think most people have missed the point. Azeem Rafiq was asking the Yorkshire Club for compensation for the way he was treated. This was obviously about money and because of the woke British media it got out of hand and devolved into a racist argument, most of which I don’t believe.
A sad, sad story but nevertheless tragically true H.
In these heady days of brand new words and terms, coined and produced by and for people who seem to object if anyone so much as breaks wind – like woke, LGBTIQA+, BLM, CRT (the list is, well, endless, and growing 24/7) I cannot even pretend to try to keep up.
A brief analysis of these terms will show that you pretty much HAVE to be racist, or sexist, of whatever it is that you are actually protesting against, to even THINK these things. People who live their lives using and embracing these words are, by definition, the very thing they are objecting to … for example if BLM, then do brown, white and yellow lives NOT matter, or do they matter less? Why should ANY life even be contemplated to matter more than another? Quite often these days, I am thinking that these heated and emotional debates are purposefully created to take our minds of what is really happening, like my friend Julius does for his erstwhile cronies in the ANC. We are so involved, disgusted and incensed by our red bereted friend’s antics that we are too distracted to notice that the people behind him are busy stealing our country. According to the NY Times, George Soros has spent US$ 150-200 millions firing up the BLM thing, money well spent taking everyone’s minds off the shenanigans surrounding this “pandemic”, from which he has profited to the tune of many, many more millions than he has spent funding this very destructive and divisive woke fave. A good businessman, is old George. Pity about the bodies though.
More recently, the Kyle Rittenhouse trial and its outcome refers. Another stage upon which our apparently disadvantaged friends (and even that crass idiot Biden) strut, moan, riot and carry on regardless of common sense and common law, even though not a single “player of colour” was involved. Biden very unwisely made his racial slur against Kyle as a common citizen while he was running for office, and will not be protected by the legal protection that politicians enjoy if Kyle sues. I hope he does, as I for one have had a gutsful of this crap, and any perpetrators unnecessarily increasing racial tension should be brought to book – even if they are the bloody President of America!
In South Africa, where the quota system, BEE, BBEE,BBEEE (or whatever the latest acronym for unfair business advantages being legally afforded people of colour is) reign free, these grossly unfair impositions all hopelessly belie the BS hype of our “non racist” rainbow country and its “internationally admired” constitution, where someone saying the “K” word get jailed for 2 years and rapists and murderers go free, and land may be summarily taken from its owners because of racial inequality.
You would think that under the circumstances of 2020, and 2021 we would have more pressing things to worry about than someone’s hypocritical whining about the word Paki, said frequently without malice by … the Pakis themselves! Does a word with racial connotations only become racially insulting when it is said by people not of that race? My head spins a little for no apparent reason these days.
Sport has become much more of a political / racist / sexist stage than it should ever be, much to its detriment, and to the detriment of people like you and I that used enjoy seeing people compete on a level playing field, where the saying “may the best man win” previously ruled supreme.
That the committees that run sport are even CONSIDERING allowing genetic males to compete against females is a complete anathema to me, but this is more concrete proof (for me anyway) that for anyone to run the sporting arena these days, they do not have to be ethical or right, they just have to be really, really loud, and never ever stop bleating incessantly until they get their way …. the gentleman’s game, like so many other things, has been bastardised and ruined by those with the loudest voice.
This whole “race” agenda is perpetrated by the NWO Globalists to divide and conquer. You only have to watch Fake News to understand what is going on. They keep BLM, LGBTGESTAPO+, Climate Change WHACKOS in their headlines to constantly push their NWO Globalists agenda. The fake media, education, some churches, politicians etc have been bought hook Line and sinker by George Soros, Klaus Schwab etc.
This expose by Olive Tree Media will give you an idea of what is going on…….
https://olivetreeviews.org/radio-archives/you-will-own-nothing-and-be-happy/
Hannes, do you have pictorial evidence for the claim made in your piece that Azeem Rafiq “appear[s] so happy wearing a shirt with the words ‘Paki Power’ emblazoned upon it”?
I think the photo speaks for itself?
Yes, Managing Editor, it speaks very loudly and clearly. And what it says is “this is patently not a photo of Azeem Rafiq”.
My apologies for this mistake.
When someone comes out blatantly looking for money with spurious claims; you sure can expect some kickback from reality. So, Rafiq made anti-semitic comments, Rafiq sexually harassed a minor, Rafiq wears a poloshirt emblazened with the words “PAKI POWER”. This last, for heaven’s sake why not; but don’t then seek damages from all and sundry for being cast as a PAKI !!!
Hannes this “guilt” attitude amongst so many whites shows just how low their esteem has sunk. A person of colour of is automatically seen to be right by the limp wristed politically correct. I have to ask, are they scared and intimidated by attitude of a vocal and sometimes violent of a minority of the coloured people?Whats happened to us “honkies”. Have we lost our balls ?
Where has sportsmanship gone ? Why all the whinging by the losers of matches now days. Witness the reactions after the latest rugby matches. The perfect example was the disgraceful behavior of the whole of English team at the medal ceremony after the last world Rugby World Cup.
Thank you the press for stirring this racial hatred up you love it why is there no mention of when a white player from England is commonly known as a useless Pom I see no complaining there always so one eyed
All guns blazing again Hannes. Well written.
Thanks Tug, I just wonder how long before someone with a voice says enough!?
Q. Has England picked Woakes for the next cricket match?
A. Yes, they’re all wokes.
Don’t forget the FROGS in France🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸
The Ndebele Gukuruhundi was not about “a wild young Prince shagging some Sheila in Las Vegas” – we are talking about 20 000 civilians brutally murdered by Mugabe and Mnangagwa’s Korean trained Fifth Brigade and we saw them going out on the Victoria Falls road in the dead of night.
AND, after having the evils of Rhodes etc rammed down our throats, I feel sure this, and Amin, Bokassa, Mobutu, Mengistu, all of whom were guilt of genocide and national collapse, will be mentioned din Black Week … aren’t you?
I wonder what the British and Zanu say about the genocide of 20 000 civilians in Matabeleland in the early 80’s carried out by the Fifth Brigade under instruction from Mugabe and President ED which included 100 commercial farmers as well? I suppose that they (Zanu and the British) will say it was a good genocide and paved the way for the current Utopia in Zimbabwe as faithfully enunciated by the wonderful politicians of the time – Thatcher, Carrington, Kissinger, Malcolm Fraser – and implemented by a British genius Lord Soames? The Brits then came back and assisted the “military transistion of 2017” to upgrade Zimbabwe from Mugabe to ED!!
This is so close to the bone but absolutely true. Great and good words, Mr. H. One can only hope sanity shall prevail….
As always, a pleasure to read! It says a great deal that white denials are considered lies but any brown accusations are automatically assumes to me true- forgive me but isn’t that racism? An Asian sends racist texts (real racist ones too) to his mates but as he’s apologised that seems to be the end of that. This man’s (wholly unearned) creditability surely bites the dust but … well, we will see. I, for one, have my doubts, given the craven reaction to this gigantic storm in a teacup. AND, it appears. Yorkshire have paid some compensation. What a bunch of total idiots -they have essentially opened the floodgates and who knows where that will end. Again -truly pathetic on the part of the Europeans.Pitiful, indeed!