The quota system in sport

I personally felt that the issue of a quota system in sport was becoming less of issue in South Africa. That was until I started reading some comments on SArugby.com.

I had no idea that this was still such a sore point for people. There are still people who feel that anytime a black player is selected for a sports team, that it’s automatically a quota selection and a white player has been passed over. Come on guys!

I will concede that when the quota system was first put in place that this may have been the case, but even then I supported it. Bear in mind that these guys are professional sportsmen- it’s their job. Therefore it is no different to BEE in respect to the rules that should be followed.

Has South African sport suffered because of the quota system in the long term- no, will it benefit- definitely, in fact it already has started to.

Sports like Rugby and Cricket, which were previously a white dominated sports, have a growing black following. This means more supporters, more people watching it on TV, therefore more people filling the stadiums, and more revenue generated.

More money means that more emphasis is placed on development, ensuring more youngsters are exposed to quality training and facilities- resulting in more- better players.

The example of sport shows how a system like BEE, if managed properly, will succeed.

Bear in mind that all this has occured in a very turbulent environment, and the Cricket and Rugby Unions are notoriously mismanaged. Yet the quota system is paying dividends.

Makahaya Ntini (South Africa’s favourite sportsman)
To address the issue of players being passed over because a ‘quota’ player was selected:

If a player is not selected because a non-white player is preferred, then in all honesty was the player that good to start with? Star players are not left out because of the quota system.

If I was a professional sportsman (everyone can dream), I would have it constantly in the back of my mind, and I would train harder for longer to ensure that there would be no doubts in the selectors mind that they should not play me.

Abolish Affirmative Action for young people?

The beginning:

Abolish Affirmative Action for young people?

I have just read and article on IOL, which spoke about a a group called Solidarity Youth who released 1000 balloons from a hill overlooking Freedom Park in Pretoria. Apart from the misrepresentation caused by the title of the article, I have a few thoughts on the topic…

…The Solidarity Youth are campaigning for the students who finish school in 2006 to be exempt of affirmative action, because their entire school career has been post-apartheid. WTF!!! Do these people not understand why affirmative action is in place? Do they not understand that AA is not a short term process? Here’s a quote I love:

“They should not be disadvantaged on the grounds of affirmative action. This is a generation free from the apartheid past.”

Bullshit! Who paid for these kids to go to school- their parents- who benefited from the apartheid regime in one way or another. Whether their parents agreed with apartheid or not, the fact that these kids could go to school was because of the privileges their parents got.Another pearler, “By imposing affirmative action on them on the grounds of the so-called wrongs of the past violates their human dignity, since they are being accused of something in which they played no part,”

Firstly- ‘so-called wrongs’ I think is pretty clear that is was wrong full stop!!!! and once again- Bullshit!

Affirmative action is not an accusatory process, it assigns no blame. The process is there to restore balance. Children should be aware of our country’s past and the reasons why these processes are in place. I am a 25 year-old, White, Male, from a privileged background. I am at the bottom of the pile in terms of affirmative action, just above dead people. My parents never supported the Apartheid government, and I was 13 when it finally ended. The school I went to had been open to black kids for 2 years prior this. As a 13 year-old boy I had not played any part in the apartheid era, in fact I barely had any comprehension of it’s existence. However I sit and blog about how I support affirmative action, when there is absolutely no short-term gain to me! Why?I support affirmative action because I believe, if managed properly, it will result in a social upliftment which will bring South Africa in line with any developed nation.

The day a miners son is able to become a doctor/lawyer/artist, instead of being doomed to a life of mediocrity by virtue of his circumstances, is the day equal opportunity processes should cease. I’m not talking about Plato’s ‘ideal state’ here, I’m talking about giving everybody an opportunity.

Anyone who says that they ‘cannot‘ get a job because of affirmative action really needs to get their head checked. There are lots of jobs, it’s just that they are not the jobs you want. Boohoo!

If you are really passionate about what you do, if you are really good at what you do, if you know everything there is to know about what you do, then there is absolutely no way that an employer would not make a plan to employ you. If by some small chance you meet all of the criteria above, then why the hell are you working for someone else in the first place- you should be working for yourself (The government actually gives money out for this regardless of race- it’s just really really really hard to get it).

The cream always rises to the top!
The trick- is to differentiate yourself.

I’m bored of ranting on this topic… I’ll try and construct a proper conclusion to my argument another time, but for now- you get the point!

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This was a post I wrote on my personal blog a couple weeks ago, which I received a bit of feedback on and inspired me to dedicate a blog to it. Hence:- My Thoughts on BEE. My hope is that I will be able to use this space to voice more of my thoughts on this subject, and I invite anyone to comment.