The issue of quotas in South African sport has been a topic of discussion on campus this past week amongst sports clubs and sporting fans. Racial diversity in Monash South Africa sports has been compared to the enforced quota laws that attempt to increase the number of ‘non-white’ players in South African teams.
During the Apartheid era, ‘non-white’ athletes were banned from participating in sport and teams were selected based on race. As a result, South Africa was excluded from international sports due to sanctions. However, after 1994 when South Africa held its first democratic elections, the playing fields were levelled and South Africa could compete globally once again. Quota systems were then introduced to ensure that black players were included and given opportunities to participate, especially in most traditionally race-skewed sports such as rugby and cricket.
In April, the Sports Minister of South Africa, Fikile Mbalula, announced to press that he will no longer beg for racial transformation but will start forcing the country’s sporting federations to fulfil racial quotas. He publicized this during the release of the third Eminent Persons Group on Transformation in Sport Report for 2014/2015. Even though the system imposes equality within sports teams, the methods have been met with mixed reactions. Due to some sporting bodies failing to include more black players in their teams within the past year, Mbalula told press, which included Stephen Grootes from the Daily Maverick, that he has “resolved to revoke the privilege of Athletics South Africa (ASA), Cricket South Africa (CSA), Netball South Africa (NSA) and South African Rugby (SARU) to host and bid for major and mega international tournaments in the Republic of South Africa as a consequence of the aforementioned federation not meeting their own set transformation targets, with immediate effect.” Mbalula concluded by saying that he will review his decision when considering the results of the 2016/2017 Transformation Barometer next year.
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| The controversial South African Springbok rugby team in 2015 – Photo by Rajesh Janilal/AFP/Getty Images |
Johan Smith, the Head of Sports and Wellness at MSA referred to the quota system saying that “if you look at the representation in sport codes like rugby, cricket and netball at national level, you will notice that quality players are being selected from all race groups. So, I will say that the process is necessary and successful.” Siya Mnyanda of The Guardian also agrees with the purpose of the quota systems saying that they are a way to “reverse the apartheid policies of racial division and systemic disadvantage”.
In contrast, Samo Nxumalo, the Student Representative Council Sports Officer says that “no one ever wants to stick out like a sore thumb and that’s exactly what these quotas are doing”. Nxumalo explained that teams are ‘forced’ to include black people in their leagues and that “it just gives the impression that it’s not that they want them there, it’s because they have to have them there.” She added that South Africa prides itself in the diversity it offers but it now seems like “pretend” diversity. Nxumalo commented saying that players want to be part of the team simply because they are good enough and not because the team doesn’t want to face law suits.
MSA is known for its diversity amongst students and has a vast variety of sporting clubs and societies. However, when the diversity was called into question, Nxumalo explained that sports clubs are diverse “but not diverse enough”. She elaborated saying that rugby is one of the only sports that break the stereotype as majority of their players are black.
Considering what solutions could be proposed to address the issues against the quota systems, Nxumalo says that sports should be promoted as a whole and that every race should be treated “based on merit and not colour of their skin.”
As the controversial topic of the quota systems is still continuously met with mixed reactions, especially in the eyes of rising sports stars who want to be noticed for their talents, sometimes the agreement over sporting merit while pushing ethnicity aside is all it takes to get people to come together and join as one with a positive future-orientated attitude for South Africa.
For Fikile Mbalula’s full speech, click here.
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ReplyDeleteThe headline for the story analysed is “Diversity in sports should be based on merit, not quotas”. The article is addressing and discussing the issue of South African sport and racial diversity in the national teams.
ReplyDeleteThere is a brief background of the history of South African sport and how during the Apartheid era, non-white athletes were banned from participating in sport and teams. The journalist clearly gives a brief description of the Apartheid era and what was taking place in the world of South African sport at that time. The journalist also informs the reader which sports are being affected by this ban that was introduced by the sports minister.
The article is easy to read as the language used is simple and clear. I like that there are direct links to the sources giving the story authenticity and credibility. The story is a good story because, firstly, it is what is recently taking place in the sporting department of South Africa which makes it interesting to the audience which are South African sport fans, players, teams and enthusiasts.
The structure of the story is well set out because as the reader I could clearly identify the introduction, background, body, and the conclusion. There are a good number of interviews of Minister Fikile Mbalula, Johan Smith and Samo Nxumalo, to support the information that was supplied in the story. The journalist also managed to get feedback from Monash South Africa personnel to show that she managed to organise meetings and interviews effectively. This news story has enough interviews to support the information and it also shows the different points of view, that of the Minister and that of the MSA Head of Sports and Wellness, Johan Smith, as well as Samo Nxumalo. There is a link of the Ministers speech which is an excellent way for the reader to get more knowledge on the topic of diversity in sport.
The facts used in the story are accurate as I have double checked with the sources used as well as extra reading on the topic of Diversity in South African sport. The story shows a conclusion which rounds up the discussion made in the article stating to the reader that the controversial topic of quota systems and ethnicity should be of less priority, placing more importance on the need to attain sporting merit and creating a positive future-oriented attitude for South Africa.
The grammar used in the punctuation is faultless. The journalist used good punctuation, ensuring coherence and smooth flow in the structure of the article.
The story I chose to analyze, which has the title "Diversity in sports should be based on merit, not quotas" deals with the use of quota systems in sports and South Africa and whether or not this, in terms of selection of appropriate players in sports, is the most efficient way forward or if selection in sports should be based purely on merit and a players natural ability.
ReplyDeleteThe story subject matter is a very good topic to write a story about, as it is an extremely relevant topic today in South Africa, as it deals with issues that many South Africans, whether they are professional athletes or not, have to deal with.
In terms of the technical attributes, structure and flow of the story, it is mostly very good. The structure in terms of the introduction, body and conclusion of the story, as well as the placement of certain pieces of information (such as background information) is appropriate. What the story does not convey completely though is the news angle that the story deals with, as although there is one present, it is not clearly presented and consistently showed through the story.
The story is a news story as it is relevant to people in South Africa, it is true, and it is fairly new in some elements (as an example there was an event mentioned that occurred earlier this year in April), however what it lacks is a new element to add value to the story, especially in terms of finding a very new news angle. This is something which could be improved. As an example, a new angle, as well as a headline, could have been taken from the interview responses done with people such as Johan Smith and Samo Nxumalo, as this would add a new element to the story.
The article makes very good use of a variety of sources, as the people who were interviewed added very relevant comments about the issue, as well as other comments made by people quoted from other news outlets which were accordingly cited. The sources used all made a good contribution to the issue at hand, with the selection of sources also providing a good variety in terms of different perspectives of the quotas system. Other facts that were not a part of interview sources also seemed to be accurate.
There were an appropriate number of interviews, both of which presented both sides of the argument for the issue at hand. The story was well presented in news style, with good structuring of the article. The introduction however, while being a good introduction to the topic at hand, does not fittingly introduce the news angle to the story, as well as in the headline.
The grammar in the story was overall very correct, with the only possible issue being that certain sentences could have been shortened, in order to ensure a better flow of words.
Overall I feel that the story was very good, that it presented a very well-balanced and unbiased feature story, with the only major error would be the presented news angle.