Makhaya Ntini’s son has spoken out about his father’s lonely days as a Proteas player.
Images via Glyn Kirk,
Alexander Joe/ AFP
Makhaya Ntini ‘fought for his life’ as first black Proteas player [watch]
The son of retired Proteas player Makhaya Ntini has reflected on his famous father’s sad memories in the national cricket team…
Makhaya Ntini’s son has spoken out about his father’s lonely days as a Proteas player.
Images via Glyn Kirk,
Alexander Joe/ AFP
The son of celebrated Proteas player Makhaya Ntini has reflected on his famous father’s tenure in the national cricket team. And what he has to say is heartbreaking…
Thando – also a professional cricket player – shared his thoughts this week in a sports podcast, The Load Shed.
Makhaya – the first black South African Test cricketer – retired from the squad in 2011 after playing for more than a decade
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MAKHAYA NTINI’S SON SAYS DAD WAS IN ‘SURVIVAL MODE’
In a clip from the podcast, which has gone viral on social media, Makhaya Ntini’s son shares how his father shunned talking about his Proteas career.
Thando said: “He was constantly fighting for his life in that team, every day. Being the only [black] guy there, it sucks to hear [when he says] he can count how many times he was invited to a dinner with the gents…..Even though he was good enough.”
He continued: “For him, it felt like it was always survival mode, and just trying to create a future for himself and his family.”
Watch the full episode below…
ALLEGATIONS OF RACISM, DISCRIMINATION
In 2020, Makhaya Ntini made headlines following a Morning Live interview when he reflected on his time as a Proteas player.
This, after a cricketer Lungi Ngidi called on the team to take a stand against racial discrimination.
In his interview, Ntini claims he was often discriminated against, allegedly over the colour of his skin.
He said: “I was forever lonely. The first thing that comes to mind when I think of loneliness is not to have someone knocking on your door and say, let’s go for dinner”.
He continued: “You’d watch friends calling each other and then having plans right in front of you, and then you’d be skipped.
“When you walk into a breakfast room – and you’re the first one there – you’d see the next person that walks in, he will never come to sit next to you. It’s that loneliness … we’re playing in the same team, practice at the same time, bowl to them, wear the same clothes and sing the same national anthem.”
Makhaya then revealed the real reason he often shunned travelling in the team bus following practise, in favour of running home.
He said: “I would go to the driver of the bus early morning and I would give him my bag and then I’ll say to him, I’ll meet you at the ground. I then put on my running shoes and ran to the cricket ground, and then the same thing on my way back.
“People never understood why I was doing that and I would never say it to them, this is why I’m doing this… to avoid A,B,C…
“I’m running away from that loneliness (from driving to and fro the hotel). You could see if I’m sitting at the back and the rest of them in the front…”
