SJN Hearings – Boucher apologises for offensive songs, nicknames during playing days | Cricket – SportsDicted

Mark Boucher, South Africa’s head coach, has admitted that the national team culture in his playing days was exclusionary and offensive but blamed it on a lack of “maturity and consciousness,” and apologised for his role in othering team-mates. He said he is committed to creating a more inclusive space going forward.

Boucher submitted a 14-page affidavit to Cricket South Africa’s Social Justice and Nation-Building committee with a “general response,” to allegations against him of racial discrimination and intends to submit a second supplementary affidavit dealing with specific issues at the conclusion of the hearings. He has also made himself available for one-on-one discussions with any former team-mates that he has offended.

However, Boucher did expand on the allegations made by Paul Adams, who told the SJN he was nicknamed brown s*** by his team-mates in the late 1990s, which included Boucher. While Boucher, “can categorically say that did not give Mr Adams the name ‘brown s***’ and “does not know who gave him the name,” he conceded that he was part of a group of players that sang a song in which Adams’ was called “brown s***” at fines’ meetings and that some of what took place at those post-match celebrations was “totally inappropriate, unacceptable and in retrospect, understandably offensive.”

Boucher said he “deeply regrets and apologies for the part I played in joining in with my team-mates in singing offensive songs or using offensive nicknames.”

More to follow…

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