The recent adventures of former CNN and 94.7 sportscaster Graeme Joffe deserve to be made into a movie. And maybe they will be. The fearless journalist’s expose’s about corruption in South African sport ruffled some powerful feathers – forcing Joffe to run for his life in the dead of night. Now in a safer location, he still keeps an eye on developments at home. The way Joffe sees it, the reaction on Twitter to a comment by veteran sportswriter Dan Retief has purposefully been blown out of all proportion to divert attention from the real issue of corruption in sport which he claims is as rampant as ever. Here’s his excellent contribution, presented through an open letter to the former head of the National Prosecuting Authority, Cricket SA board member Advocate Vusi Pikoli. – Alec HoggÂ
By Graeme Joffe
Dear Advocate Pikoli,
I refer to the following from twitter …
Dan Retief @retiefdan SA carried to victory by two white Afrikaners… politicians and media commentators take note… for what its worth
Vusi Pikoli @VusiPikoli waiting to hear from sports/cricket writers on Dan Retief’s tweet about the Proteas!
Waiting to hear from sports/cricket writers on Dan Retief's tweet about the Proteas!
— Vusi Pikoli (@VusiPikoli) February 16, 2016
Dan Retief’s tweet was very unfortunate but having known and worked with Dan for a number of years, he is not a racist and is one of SA’s top rugby journalists. Ironically, he is one of the few journalists who is currently exposing the rot in SA Rugby and willing to take on the likes of Jurie Roux and company.
Dan could have done an “Mbalula” and told the world his twitter account was hacked. He didn’t. He manned up and apologized.
Cricket SA (CSA), of which you are a board member accepted his apology.
I was just as shocked when I saw the tweet which had a racist undertone and I’m not condoning it for one second. It was in poor taste and Dan admitted to me: “Got the tweet completely wrong and managed to convey completely the opposite of what I was trying to say.”
But why are we looking to make a scapegoat out of Dan Retief when the problems in SA sport run much deeper?
Corruption + cronyism + maladministration + political interference = more racism
CSA has a lot of skeletons in its closet and has mastered the “sweep” under the carpet with their lack of transparency.
One doesn’t really need reminding of the World Cup political selection interference, questionable Lottery applications including a R2.5m grant that was paid out ten years later (sounds a bit like a FIFA payment to Platini), R17m from the Lottery to Border Cricket in November 2014 (the region from where the CSA president comes from), the current match fixing scandal and still the “cosy” work relationship with their former disgraced CEO, Gerald Majola.
Twitter shows no mercy and Dan copped it from all sides (fair enough) but part of the skewed problem is you have people who don’t really know him and are grandstanding to score political points.
Eusebius McKaiser @Eusebius Dan Retief, a sports journalist, comes out of the racist closet too. Hope editors decide not to use him again.
Mbhazima Shilowa @Enghumbhini Did Dan Retief send out a racist tweet after Rabada and Amla scored centuries at Newlands?
Rabada didn’t score a century at Newlands. So, he probably didn’t send out a racist tweet.
SA celebrated the rise of Rabada and Bavuma as did Dan Retief.
Some chose to celebrate the rise of them as black and not SA cricketers. That could have been deemed to be racist. We all know the country’s history and that’s why we embrace stories like that of Rabada and Bavuma even more.
Dan Retief made a controversial mistake but did he commit a crime like that of the corrupt officials, robbing our athletes of opportunities and a living?
The same officials who have a passion for lining their own back pockets and are not interested in results and developing a sporting code.
Grass roots development is too much work for the greedy gravy train.
The Sports Ministry hides behind a “clean audit”. I can assure they are not clean thanks to dirty conduits eg. Sports Trust, corruption within the various Provincial Arts and Culture departments, irregular tenders and wasted expenditure on dinners, parties, overseas trips and parades.
No need to look further than the R60 odd million spent on one night at the annual SA Sports Awards.
SASCOC is corrupt, the National Lottery Distribution Agencies are corrupt and a number of sporting federations are run like their own family businesses with cronyism, fraud and maladministration.
CSA is no exception.
How does one explain to kids when they’re selected for a provincial team and a week later their parents gets a call to say, sorry they’ve had to replace them with a player of color?
Is that not racist?
How can CSA justify a system where each franchise can have seven semi-pro contracted players, of which only three can be white? The example net result is that a black player who is supposedly contracted to one province (but isn’t good enough to play) is getting a contract at another province with a batting average half as good as that of an uncontracted white player.
Is that not racist and unconstitutional?
Funding including match fees should be going into club cricket to fast track players who don’t have the means but by pushing them into the higher echelons via a “quota system” is becoming detrimental to the individuals, the game and will continue to see an exodus of top players.
And most of all, it builds up racial tension and resentment.
Dreams are being shattered for our sportsmen and women of all colour as many of them have to pay their own way to represent the country.
Officials use funding as an excuse. It’s a lame excuse as I can vouch for hundreds of millions from the National Lottery that is designated for sport but is not reaching its destination.
Instead, it’s finding its way into the corrupt coffers.
In July 2013, I was sued for defamation in my personal capacity for R21.1 million by SASCOC and some of their board members for exposing the corruption in SA sport.
Legal costs have gone over the R3 million mark. SASCOC are using public funds which should be going to our athletes in their effort to bully and silence me.
In April last year, I received a threat to my safety due to my exposes and had to flee SA. My cell-phone was illegally tapped and emails hacked.
I was offered no protection and the criminal case has been covered up.
I could say it’s racist but instead I continue to fight for all SA sportsmen and women who deserve so much better.
For what SA has in finance, facilities and talent, we should be getting 30 medals at the Olympic Games. We don’t get close because of the corruption and maladministration. But we still have victory parades with media partners when the athletes return for the officials to pat themselves on the back and celebrate mediocrity.
SA has a very conflicted sports media and that too contributes to the racial aggression that spills out onto social media.
SA sport is corrupt to the core.
Adv Thuli Madonsela @ThuliMadonsela 3 (SASCOC) investigation on track but serious resource constraints impeding expeditious finalisation
We’ve recently learned that the Guptas had a hand in the appointment of Fikile Mbalula as Sports Minister.
Where does that leave SA sport?
SA sport needs to rid itself of the criminal element that is destroying the fabric that can unite the nation.
Dan Retief is one of the few sports journalists, trying to do this.
He has a right to earn a living and should be allowed to continue his work as a journalist and mentor to aspiring young writers.
There is no hope for the future of SA sport if we just keep looking for scapegoats on twitter. We need to look at the bigger picture which is very bleak right now.
Hopefully, we have all learned more from this experience.
Best regards
Graeme Joffe
