Ashwin Willemse: Sports Minister slams Supersport duo’s “racist behaviour”

Minister of Sport and Recreation, Tokozile Xasa has thrown her support behind Supersport pundit, Ashwin Willemse, who walked off set during a live recording on Saturday.

During the post-match analysis of the Super Rugby game between the Lions and the Brumbies, the former Stormers and Springboks winger laid into colleagues, Nick Mallett and Naas Botha, accusing them of undermining him and citing being labelled a “quota player”, before calmly walking off camera.

“I’ve been in the game for a long time like most of us here. As a player, I’ve been called a quota for a long time and I’ve worked very hard to earn the respect I have now. I’m not going to sit here and be patronised by these two individuals (Mallett and Botha) who played their rugby during the apartheid era, a segregated era,” Willemse said.

The incident prompted widespread debate and, in a statement issued by her ministry, Xasa slammed the legendary former Bok flyhalf and the ex-coach, calling on Supersport to suspend the duo.

“It is clear that Ashwin Willemse was referred as a quota player by his fellow panelists despite his many successes in the field of play, I call upon SuperSport to suspend the two panelists while they are busy with full investigation,” she said.

“The continued appearance of Mallet and Botha will be seen as an endorsement of their alleged racist behavior.”

Willemse made a clean sweep at the SA Rugby awards in his breakthrough season in 2003, as he was named Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year and the Player’s Player of the Year.

In a career plagued by injury, he made 19 appearances in the green and gold, scoring five tries, and was part of Jake White’s 2007 World Cup-winning squad.

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