Proteas batsman Rassie van der Dussen declares his support for the Black Lives Matter movement in SA
Image: Isuru Sameera Peris/Gallo Images
The Black Lives Matter movement in South African cricket is gaining serious momentum after Proteas all-format batsman Rassie van der Dussen declared his support for the movement.
In response to a question from veteran journalist Max du Preez on Twitter on where he stands with regards to Black Lives Matter‚ Van Der Dussen said he was in support of the movement and refuses to be labelled.
“Max‚ ek ondersteun BLM‚ ek is teen alle moorde‚ fisiese‚ karakter-‚ en kulturele moord. Ek ondersteun gelyke geleenthede vir almal. Omdat ek BLM ondersteun beteken dit nie dat ek geweld of Marxisme ondersteun nie‚ ek weier dus om deur mense geëtiketteer te word. Viva Afrika‚” Van der Dussen tweeted.
Translated into English‚ it means:”Max‚ I support BLM; I am against all murders‚ physical‚ character and cultural murder. I support equal opportunities for everyone. Just because I support BLM doesn’t mean I support violence or Marxism‚ I refuse to be labelled by people.”
Max, ek ondersteun BLM, ek is teen alle moorde, fisiese, karakter-, en kulturele moord. Ek ondersteun gelyke geleenthede vir almal. Omdat ek BLM ondersteun beteken dit nie dat ek geweld of Marxisme ondersteun nie, ek weier dus om deur mense geëtiketteer te word. Viva Afrika! 🇿🇦 https://t.co/mEhKFBjKMR
— Rassie van der Dussen (@Rassie72) July 16, 2020
The 31-year-old Van Der Dussen‚ one of the more junior members in the Proteas setup despite his age and vast domestic experience‚ is the first white player in the Proteas setup to speak up for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Van der Dussen‚ who’s quickly become an integral all format player for the national team‚ hasn’t completed more than two years in the national team‚ but is arguably one of their most important batsmen.
The Black Lives Matter movement has posed serious questions of Cricket South Africa’s past and present transformation issues‚ even though they’ve stated their support for the movement.
Last week Monday‚ Proteas fast bowler Lungi Ngidi said a conversation needed to be had with regards to the Black Lives Matter movement‚ a statement that attracted fierce criticism from four former Proteas players in Rudi Steyn‚ Pat Symcox‚ Brian McMillan and Boeta Dippenaar.
31 former international and provincial former players and the five franchise coaches came out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and said they stand by the 24-year-old Ngidi.