LETTER: Graeme Smith in the clear

Shocked would be an understatement regarding the outcome of the arbitration case between Cricket SA (CSA) and Graeme Smith, the organisation’s former director of cricket.

Like many, I was convinced that CSA had a strong case. But it appears that case came crumbling down, at huge cost financially and from a reputational point of view.

Despite the egg on the face of CSA, I do however think they were correct to see through all the findings of the Social Justice and Nation Building (SJN), and to do it in a way that is a fair and transparent to the complainants and the accused, as well as the cricketing community. 

For me, SJN was an important and necessary process and, despite its flaws, most of which were resource and time-related, it has helped publicise the horrendous experiences of those who were discriminated against within cricket structures. The SJN process provided a platform for victims to air their experiences, and it was always up to CSA to decide how they dealt with the “tentative findings”. 

I am happy that Smith’s case has been concluded and the independent nature of the process including the testing of all accusations through arbitration leaves no room for doubt and second-guessing.

The testimonies presented at SJN, in particular the implicit and explicit racism experiences of African, coloured and Indian players and administrators, left a bitter taste in my mouth. The findings have put that to rest and I wish Smith all the best for the future.

Khaya Tyatya
Randburg