It was a busy week in rugby land in NZ this last week. Kicked off by the incredibly offensive comments made by the publicity hungry Andy Hayden on Murray Deaker’s rugby show (on which I'm proud to say I've never watched).
Phil Gifford summed things up beautifully about Hayden when he said: “Occasionally a story comes along that is so divisive and untrue that you feel like a shower after you've heard or read it.
Such was the demonstrably untrue statement on Murray Deaker's television show by Andy Haden that the Crusaders "for ages" had run a quota system of importing no more than three non-white players per season.
Haden said he had reliable information that the Crusaders in their manual specified they would never bring in more than "three darkies", a phrase he possibly picked up on the Cavaliers tour of apartheid era South Africa he helped organise in 1986.”
Phil Gifford - thank god for him. He is a shining exception in a sea of white, old, grumpy, aggressive, racist men (Hayden, Deaker, Paul Holmes, Paul Henry, Michael Laws to scrape the surface) in the New Zealand media.
These middle aged ranters are given a soapbox where they get a weekly chance to display to the nation the Neanderthal like rumblings in their backward brains. It is enough to make one want to leave the country. And that's just what I'm going to do too!
Sadly Hayden is keeping his job as a NZ rugby ambassador. But that is often the way with bullies and liars. And with the NZRFU - I don't know why they always turn a blind eye.
4 comments:
I cannot believe that any fan or team would think fielding a team with a token amount of "Dark skinned players"-particularly in New Zealand, where there are so many people of Pacific Island origin. I think fans and players want to go out on the pitch with best fifteen players, irregardless of the amount-or lack of-Melanin in their skin.
I'm not naive enough to think that there are not racists in New Zealand, I just think clubs and fans are beyond that.
Hi Nursedude,
Lovely to hear from you.
Yes - what was heartening was the huge uproar it caused in the country. And quite rightly too. Sadly though, Andy Hayden has still managed to keep his job.
How can Hayden be a rugby ambassador? Is it also true that he still stands by his dive in the 1978 Welsh game to win a penalty to win the game. Surely all Kiwis reject this very cheap cheating as well as his racist tendencies?
I will post something on this in www.GreatMomentsOfSportsmanship.com where you'll see a 60 second tour of the new Lansdowne Road stadium which awaits the arrival of the All Blacks in Nov.
Paul
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