The Ethics of Racism

It has become fashionable for tour supporters to claim glibly "I don't believe in mixing politics and sport". This claim has sent many anti-tour people (including Hart) into a frenzy of activity to try and justify "politics in sport".

It seems to me that the "politics in sport" phrase has been a very effective red-herring designed by some clever friend of South Africa (white, that is) to distract the anti-tour movement from the real issue: ethics in sport The South African cult of Apartheid is based on a religious belief (of early Dutch protestant origin) of god-given racial superiority — similar to, but less sophisticated than, the foundations of Nazism. For the white South African racial oppression and slavery are thus morally justifiable. For most of the rest of the world (including us?) they are not. The real question about the tour is: what place does ethics have in sport?

D.L. Atmore.