Former South African wrist spinner Paul Adams has exposed several instances of racial discrimination, including being nicknamed "brown s***" by his teammates throughout his playing & coaching career. Speaking at Cricket South Africa's (CSA) social justice & nation-building hearing, Adams called for more education to ensure that people of all races are treated with respect.
Adams was the only player of color in the XI when he made his Test debut in 1995 & remained in the minority in terms of race throughout his nine-year career, which he described as "all fun & not games", mainly because he It was subject to racial stereotypes inside & outside the team.
"I was called Brown s*** when I was playing. It often used to be a song when we'd win a game & we were in fine meetings. They used to sing, 'Brown s*** in the ring. 'Tra la la la la,'" Adams said, adding that his wife, who was his girlfriend at the time, was the first to ask him why he was told that & said it was not right. "When you play for your country When you've got that win, you don't mean it, you brush it off, but it's clearly racist. Some would say unconscious bias & they weren't aware but that's why we're here - to change that."
Adams also recalled how he was viewed by certain sections of the media, who, he said, used preconceived notions about people of his race Cape color as criminals to describe his bowling actions.
"When I burst onto the scene, I was very different: my action, I was very different from the norm, how I looked, the music I played & even how I spoke. But one thing stood out to me. This was how some parts of the media described my bowling action. It would be described as a 'hubcap stealing from moving cars' & I found it insulting. Was it because I was born in Cape Flats? Was it? Have Cape Colors always been called gangsters & thieves? It's a form of racial stereotype."
Adams admitted that although he did not speak out against prejudice during his playing days, "it's sitting in my head & I don't have a platform to speak about it", & that he was aware of the challenges and challenges of the 1990s. The pressures of being a player of color in the late decade & early 2000s.
"I have received several messages & a special message from Tata Nelson Mandela [former President of South Africa]," Adams said. "He told me how important I was to the country and what it meant. That's when I sat back & realized that there is more to this game of cricket than just going on the cricket field. The Blacks represented a new generation of the South. Africans are performing in the world like never before.
"I was very proud of how I got there. However, it came with a lot of pressure. There was always pressure to win games but the pressure I'm talking about is the pressure to beat white players. You've always You felt you had to put in double the effort."
Early in his career, Adams was competing with offspinning all-rounder Pat Simcox for a place in the XI. Simcox, who made his debut in 1993, played 20 Tests for South Africa, scoring 741 runs at 28.50 & taking 37 wickets at 43.32. In 80 ODIs, he scored 694 runs at an average of 16.92 & took 72 wickets at 38.36. Adams, primarily a bowler, ended his career with 45 Tests (134 wickets at 32.87) & 24 ODIs (29 wickets at 28.10).
Adams felt that Simcox was liked by him because Simcox was white. "It felt like they were suppressing me & hiding me. It seemed to me that they didn't want me to overtake the white player and rather leave me in that corner & sit and listen."
He said the same thing happens even today. Simcox was one of three former internationals who last year criticized Lungi Ngidi for making a stand for the national team anti-racism.
"When Lungi Ngidi made a comment supporting this, some former players came out and abused him," Adams said. "Then, it was the same mindset: you sit in a corner, you keep quiet, & play cricket.
Now, long retired, older & wiser, Adams could not keep quiet. Along with Ashwell Prince, he formed a group of 31 former players & five coaches who issued a statement in support of Ngidi.
"As players, you have to play a big part in society," Adams said. "You've got the opportunity, you've got the platform, you've got to create awareness."
Adams believes that there remains a lack of understanding about the impact of discrimination, especially among the older generation of cricketers. He confirmed a story told last week to Roger Telemachus about a famous coach who works on the circuit today, painting a black player's face white as punishment for having dirty shoes. "You don't do that to young players. You break their heart, you break their soul. It might teach them a lesson but you don't do that if you look back in history to see what was going on. "
He also recalled a more recent incident on a WhatsApp group formed over the past two years with former internationals from the 1990s and 2000s. "On 7 January 2020, South Africa lost a game against Under-19 Zimbabwe & one player wrote on the group: 'How long are they going to keep that monkey out there', referring to Under-19 coach Lawrence Mahatlane Another former player responded, to his credit, saying, 'This comment is highly inappropriate & compromises everyone in the group.'"
Adams is no longer a member of the group, which he said consists mostly of former white players, & wonders: "Do they talk about players of color like this all the time? Is that their idea? Is?"
He called on CSA to "start a forum of former cricketers at CSA where we can educate & talk about our experiences" &, in particular, to ensure that the country's divided history is given adequate emphasis. has gone. "I don't think enough cricketers are educated about our past and not having international cricket for a while & why it happened. We have to educate people about racism."