Mark Boucher Apologizes For Using Nicknames During Playing Days, Singing Offensive Songs For Colored Teammates

Mark Boucher, current South Africa head coach and the most successful wicketkeeper in international cricket in terms of dismissals has apologized for singing offensive songs and using nicknames for colored teammates during his playing days.

This comes after former South Africa player and his teammates Paul Adams accused Boucher of using racist terminology in his affidavit to Cricket South Africa’s Social Justice and Nation-Building committee (SJN). Adams had said that Boucher made racial slurs on him during one song and was nicknamed brown s*** by his teammates in the late 1990s.

Boucher submitted a 14-page affidavit to Cricket South Africa’s Social Justice and Nation-Building committee containing “general response,” to implications of being involved in racial discrimination. He has also made himself available for one-on-one discussions with former teammates in a bid to mend relationships.

We Were Not Only Naive But Were Also Ill-Equipped To Deal With The New Environment: Mark Boucher

Mark Boucher categorically stated that he didn’t give Adams any nickname, but admitted to being part of the group of players that sang a song in which Adams was called “brown s***” and that some of what took place at those post-match celebrations was “totally inappropriate, unacceptable and in retrospect, understandably offensive.”

Adams’ testimony, and that of other colored players including Roger Telemachus, Loots Bosman, and Ashwell Prince, spoke of a team culture that made them feel unwanted and were topics of the country’s ghettoized past were undiscussed.

“We were not only naive but were also ill-equipped to deal with the new environment in which we found ourselves. To my certain knowledge there had not been any briefing or discussion by CSA as to how we deal with the legacy of Apartheid, how players and management should deal with the additional pressures placed on them by the country and the media, how we ensure that there is equality, respect, empathy and inclusiveness in the team. There was no guidance, no culture discussions, no open fora and no-one appointed by CSA to deal with awkwardness or questions or pressures that were being experienced by the players and, in particular, by the players of color,” Boucher’s statement read as per ESPNCricinfo.com.

Boucher, in his statement, said that he has noted changes in the last few years, especially since the Black Lives Matter movement last year.

He further added that in his time as a coach, he had been involved in “intense and meaningful workshops and discussions about how to create an atmosphere of inclusiveness and a culture of respect and empathy between all players.”

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