Adv Dumisa Ntsebeza based his “tentative findings” on Mark Boucher’s role in the Paul Adams “brown s**t” saga on an incorrect version of Adams’ statement.
While testifying at the Social Justice and Nation-Building (SJN) hearings, Adams said he had been called “brown s**t” during the singing of a Proteas team song more than 20 years ago. Boucher was part of that team.
Adams changed his final statement to Cricket South Africa’s SJN commission by removing any reference to Boucher. However, according to Rapport newspaper, the commission ignored the updated statement and used the earlier version.
CSA used the SJN report as a basis for its disciplinary case against Boucher, which was withdrawn this week, and the Boucher-specific quote appeared in CSA’s charge sheet.
The SJN report, which was compiled by Ntsebeza, quotes Adams as saying:
“Being called ‘brown shit’ when I was playing by teammates 20-odd years ago still echoes in my memories. I recall that Mark Boucher in particular would call me by that name and would be used as a fines meeting song for me… ‘Brown shit in the ring, tra-la-la-la-la’. Yes I was having the time of my life playing for my country and being one of the first black players to represent my country so I brushed it off and focused on my game because I wasn’t going to allow these racists to affect my mindset. I knew then already what was happening was wrong. But there was no-one to talk to or to support a player who spoke up so like my fellow black friends it off and let it go.”
What Adams’ submission actually says is:
“Being called ‘brown shit’ when I was playing by teammates 20-odd years ago still echoes in my memories. I recall that a few players would call me by that name and would be used as a fines meeting song for me… ‘Brown shit in the ring, tra-la-la-la…”. Yes l was having the time of my life playing for my country and being one of the first black players to represent my country so l brushed it off and focused on my game because I wasn’t going to allow these racists to affect my mindset. I knew then already what was happening was wrong. But there was no-one to talk to or to support a player who spoke up so like my fellow black friends I shrugged it off and let it go.”
