Graeme Smith Cleared Of Racism Allegations By Independent Panel

Cricket South Africa (CSA) declared on Sunday that CSA’s previous Director of cricket Graeme Smith has been gotten free from racism claims by an independent panel.

Smith and current head coach Mark Boucher were among various CSA workers involved in “tentative findings” made by the Social Justice and Nation Building Ombudsman last year into alleged discrimination within the sport’s national governing organization in the past.

No Proof That Graeme Smith Was Against Black Administration At CSA

Boucher has been blamed for racism by former colleague Paul Adams and of sidelining his former assistant mentor Enoch Nkwe. He denies the two claims and will confront a CSA disciplinary hearing on charges of gross misconduct one month from now.

The panel reasoned that there was no proof that Smith, additionally a former skipper of the national team, racially oppressed former player Thami Tsolekile somewhere in the range of 2012 and 2014, or that he was one-sided against the Black administration at CSA.

It added that there was no legitimacy in the claim that Smith leaned toward Boucher over Nkwe during the selection process for a head coach in 2019.

“The manner in which these issues have been dealt with… confirms CSA’s commitment to deal with the SJN issues in a manner that treats them with utmost seriousness but also ensures fairness, due process, and finality,” said Lawson Naidoo, chair of the CSA board.

“Now that finality on these processes has been reached, it is appropriate to recognize the extraordinary contribution that Graeme has made to South African cricket.”

The 41-year-old Smith’s tenure as director of cricket ended at the end of last month. South Africa is set to play a 5-match T20 series against India starting on 9 June.

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