SA Athletes Paying The Price of Egos and Free Overseas Trips

At the 2012 Olympic Games in London, South Africa had a 20 year old sprinter in the final of the 200m sprint event, lining up alongside the likes of Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake, Christophe Lemaitre, Wallace Spearmon and Warren Weir. He only came in 8^th place that day but, with all things equal, it’s not hard to imagine that young man winning a medal at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. However, because of boardroom bungles, Anaso Jobodwana could be in the colours of the USA and not the green and gold South African vest and I would cheer loudly for him!

This past weekend, Athletics South Africa was suspended as a member the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) with immediate effect. It’s all a dirty affair. It is no secret that ASA has not been the best run organisation in recent years. In fact just over 2 months ago, its board incurred its first suspension by ASA owing to financial problems and infighting which led to an attempt by board members to impeach ASA president James Evans, which was later, ruled unconstitutional.

Now depending on what else you might have read on the situation and who you choose to believe you might be inclined to take the side of Sascoc as news came to light over the past few days that ASA is running out of funds, so says Zola Majavu, a well respected advocate who was appointed by ASA as an administrator. He was summarily dismissed after the decision that Sascoc made and has had undisclosed criminal charges lain against him by the ASA president. However ASA still has the support of the IAAF. Gideon Sam has been displeased with the IAAF’s stance and has likened it to Sascoc’s legitimacy as the sports authority in South Africa being denied. In other sections of the media, Sam, along with Sascoc, has been labelled as bully on a power trip. Graeme Joffe, a popular sports journalist formerly with CNN & a fierce critic of Sascoc and its leaders has called this suspension a ploy by Sam to have his cronies elected to the ASA board. So far, for my mind, this smells like a pair of 12 year olds sitting in a hostel dorm room counting who of the two has more pubic hairs. It would be very comical except that this seemingly petty squabble involves adults.

And what of the athletes, the most important entity in this whole equation? Almost no mention has been made of them. Well they, along with the organisation and its board, are suspended too. Sascoc has really gone all out to prove what a mighty force they are by proclaiming that no ASA athletes will be included in future Team South Africa squads for the Commonwealth Youth Games, Commonwealth Games, Anoca Youth Games, All Africa Games, Olympic Youth Games, Olympic Games and the World Student Games in which Jobodwana was due to participate in 9 days’ time. Sascoc has also cut funding and support for ASA athletes who were identified as potential medal hopefuls like Sunette Viljoen and Godfrey Mokoena by Sascoc's Operation Excellence (Opex) programme. Since when did any of our athletes represent ASA and not South Africa?

When athletes have to suffer at the hands of the administrators who are supposed to be protecting their best interests, such as in this case, it becomes clear that sporting matters have been thrown out the window and all that is at stake are egos, expense accounts, free overseas trips and the like. Self interest is at stake and it’s hindering South African athletes quite possibly for many years to come. Our athletes cannot improve or become world beaters with consistently competing in international events or getting funds for costly resources and training. And what is to motivate youngsters to take up track and field seriously when no South African athletes get to compete against the best because of the suits?

If this was an athletics matter, Sascoc would suspend the ASA board and take away their funding but continue to help the athletes. They say the suspension could be over in a couple of months but what damage would have been done by then? What will Jobodwana think of when someone from the US athletics body promises him near unlimited funding, facilities and every resource he needs in order to compete for them? Will he be thinking loyalty or will he be thinking about a great opportunity to become the best in the world? If I saw him at the next Olympics with the letters U-S-A across his chest, I would be happy for him and I wouldn’t find fault with his decision, would you?

-

Mawande Mateza

Follow me on Twitter @Mawandinho

Side note: Anaso Jobodwana completed his second year at Jackson State University in Oxford, Mississippi in May this year. He ran a best time of 20.13 in the 200m this year and placed fourth in the NCAA National Championships. He also ran a best time of 10.10 in the 100m.

South Africans in the NFL

Gary Anderson Trading Card

South African sports fans may not recognize the name Gary Anderson readily but he could possibly be the country's most successful sporting export and certainly the country's finest contributor to American football.

Anderson was born in Parys in the Free State in 1958 and raised in Durban. Upon completing high school, his family moved to the United States. His father, Douglas Anderson was a professional soccer player in England before moving to South Africa. Gary played soccer and cricket at school.

Newly moved to the Pennsylvania in the States, Gary decided on a whim to compare kicking a soccer ball to kicking a football similar to the ones in the NFL, at a nearby school. He was spotted by a local coach who was acquainted to Philadelphia Eagles coach Dick Vermeil who invited him to try out with the NFL team. Anderson was offered scholarships by 4 colleges whose coaches attended the Eagles' trials. He chose to attend Syracuse University because they agreed to let him play both soccer and football. He scored 19 goals in his first 2 years at Syracuse for their soccer team before devoting himself completely to football.

Mr Automatic in action for the Steelers.

Anderson was noted for his high levels of concentration in the professional game which he attributes to playing cricket as an opening batsman in his school days. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the 1983 NFL draft before being cut from the squad which led to him being signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was nicknamed Mr. Automatic at the Steelers owing to his remarkable kicking accuracy. He is noted as a pioneer for accuracy in the NFL. His career success rate for kicks at goal stands at 80.1% which is the second best in NFL history.

Anderson played in the NFL for 23 years, phenomenal considering that the average NFL career spans 3, 5 years. He is one of only 3 men including Morten Andersen and George Blanda to have played in over 300 career games in the NFL. In 2000, he became the highest points scorer in NFL history and his record of 2434 points stood until 2006 when it was broken by Morten Andersen.

Gary and his wife, Kay, during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Anderson spent 13 years at the Steelers before playing for 4 other teams in his career including the Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, Minnesota Vikings and Tennessee Titans. Amongst his long list of achievements is the perfect season he achieved with the Vikings in 1998 where he was successful with all 94 of his kicks in the regular season, a major contributor to the Vikings' record of 15 wins and only one loss in the regular season that year.

Anderson was named in the NFL Team of the Decade for the 1980s and 1990s and in 1983 was named as the Steelers Most Valuable Player for the season which is almost unheard of for a kicker. He has one of the highest accolades that can be bestowed to a player in any sport in that the number 1 jersey that he wore for the Steelers has been retired in his honour.

Anderson's career is the stuff of legends. He was nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame which in itself is huge considering that only 1 kicker in the history of the NFL has been inducted in the hall of fame. Anderson retired from football in 2004. He maintains ties with his homeland; he was in the country during the 2010 FIFA World Cup and still maintains a heavy South African accent.

Two other South Africans have played in the NFL. There is the story that goes around that legendary Springbok flyhalf Naas Botha played in the NFL. He was invited by the Dallas Cowboys to try out for their team as a kicker. He played in a couple of exhibition games for the franchise dubbed America's Favourite Team but in the main he was unsuccessful in his trial and was not signed on by the Cowboys and spent the majority of his time in the US playing rugby for the Dallas Harlequins which he led to the 1984 USA National Club Championship.

Jerome Pathon at the New Orleans Saints

Cape Town born Jerome Pathon played wide receiver in 99 NFL games and scored 15 touch downs in his career spanning 8 years with 3 teams the Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons. Most notably, he was drafted by the Colts in 1998 along with Peyton Manning. He last played in the NFL in 2005 and is currently a coach at the University of South Florida.

Linebacker Ezra Butler had a less spectacular career in the NFL. He was signed by the Saints in 2011 after unsuccessful stints on the practice squads of the 49ers and the New York Jets. However he did win two championships with the Las Vegas Locomotives who play in the minor United Football League.

- Mawande Mateza
follow on twitter @Mawandinho

Many thanks to Ben Morgan