Springboks captain Siya Kolisi has spoken in support Black Lives Matter (BLM) in a touching Instagram video but the response from the white community was unexpected.
Here is part of Siya Kolisi’s words about BLM, “A lot of people have been asking me about why i have been quiet about the Black Lives Matter movement. I have been observing and listening to what people have been saying. People are talking about it in sport. I had to think about it because it is more than sport. I used to think life doesn’t matter when i grew in the township. I was all about surviving from the moment i was born. I was not encouraged to follow my ambitions. I was making bricks as a kid. When i was 8, i used to sell fruits and vegetables to survive. When i was 16, i was a bar attender. I was just to survive. When i went to school we did not have fields or equipment. When i went to Grey it was different. There were good facilities. I had to learn to speak English. I thought i wasn’t smart enough. I had to adapt to a whole knew culture. A few people were interested in learning my language. That’s when i met Nicholas my friend. He had to teach me English. He came to my township. The boys did not know about life in the township. We had six meals a day whereas in the township you may not have a meal.”
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Kolisi continued, “When i went into the Springbok world, they taught us in Afrikaans and i had to translate from Afrikaans to Xhosa. I had to wait and get explanations from friends. I felt stupid and embarrassed. I just had to be grateful to be there. Only in 2018 we started a conversation about transforming. We have to change whether we like it or not. Coach Rassie addressed the issue of transformation from the start,” said Kolisi. He said we needed to transform as a team, and not only by just having people of colour but also by changing the environment and changing from the inside. We felt valued. We had a campaign, we are stronger together and it is a great campaign as we are all fighting for one thing. If we all get together and understand that if my suffering make you feel pain then we are in the right direction. I did not address it when i was a leader i was afraid of being kicked out. I will not keep quiet. I will talk about issues that affect me. We need to use this platform addressing this issue. Its time for us to come together because it is the only way we can beat this.”
Kolisi‘s video sparked outrage as some white fans destroying Springbok jerseys by cutting showing their anger towards the captain.
Others have chose not to burn their jerseys but they are not in agreement with Siya Kolisi.