Former Proteas star and fast-bowler Makhaya Ntini has taken the internet by storm as he sheds light on his Proteas racism experience.
The former cricketer poured his heart out on Friday, detailing the ‘isolation’ he felt as part of South Africa’s national cricket team. The legendary paceman was discussing his personal experiences of racism with SABC and revealed the questionable treatment he received at the peak of his career.
Ntini explained that many of his teammates wouldn’t sit with him on the team bus and that no-one ever joined him for food. He felt deliberately excluded and spoke about the pain of ‘loneliness’ that he believes was caused by reactions to his skin colour. The ex-athlete explained:
“I was forever lonely at the time. Nobody knocked on my door to go for dinner. Teammates used to make plans right in front of me, skipping me out. When walking into the breakfast room, nobody came to sit with me. We wear the same uniform and sing the same national anthem, but I had to overcome [the isolation]”
“I used to see the driver of the team bus, give him my bag, and then I would run to the cricket ground. I did the same thing on the way back; I just ran back instead. People never understood why I did that, I never told them what I was trying to avoid. It became my best thing; I didn’t have to face any of it.”
“I was running away from the loneliness. If I was sitting at the back of the bus, they would go and sit at the front. Whenever we won, it was joyful – but I was the first to be blamed whenever we lost… My son Thando has also experienced this, he was almost stopped from going on an U19 camp [on false pretences].”- He shared.
Main Image: The South African
