via www.businessday.co.za: FIREBRAND Sport and Recreation Minister Fikile Mbalula is to launch a transformation commission of inquiry to investigate whether all sporting codes are serious about ensuring sport is fully inclusive.
GMM: South Africa, striving to create multiracial sports, sees a huge hurdle in the sport of swimming.
FROM THE SPORT AND RECREATION MINISTER (photo above): "I want to see multiracial rugby and cricket teams by the end of the year. I want to see all the teams multiracial. But (swimming) will take 100 years to be multiracial because black people cannot swim. When I raise these issues I am not being racist," Mbalula said.
GMM: Mbalula's motivation to make South African swimming multiracial is positive, but he needs to do some research on the sport of swimming. Africans are, in fact, exceptional swimmers, and, historically, were the best swimmers.
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GMM: Color in the sport of swimming has long been a debated issue, particularly in the United States. In truth, it's an economic issue. Historically, people of color have not had the same opportunites as whites. They have not had access to pools, and lower income families have not had the economic means to support their children with swimming lessons.
Olympic gold medalist, Cullen Jones, is an Ambassador for Make a Splash, the USA Swimming Foundation's national initiative to teach every child in America to swim, to make sure they all have access to this life-saving skill.
Yeah, I think Mbalula's intentions are good. However, he must till be careful with the words he says. One single mistake can cause a lot of problems.
Posted by: mae | postcard printing services online | February 20, 2012 at 04:25 PM