Graeme Smith 'shocked' after threats on supporting Black Lives Matter movement

Graeme Smith remains steadfast in his support for the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in the face of an "enormous amount of abuse", including "death threats" following his actions at the 3TC match in July. At that game, Smith - along with all 24 participating players, match and administrative officials and commentators - took a knee and wore an armband with the BLM logo on it. That prompted criticism from those who do not agree with the anti-racist stance and more criticism from those who feel Smith has done too little, too late.

In the lead-up to and since the match, at least four former national players - all white - opposed the gesture in support of BLM while several former players of colour have since gone public with their stories of discrimination, some under Smith's captaincy. Smith, who is now South Africa's director of cricket, believes some outpouring of expression stems from disappointment in how South African society has stagnated almost three decades after democracy.

"It has shocked me how heated things have got. I get that in South Africa we've got so many issues and in some ways its felt like we are bearing the brunt for government not having delivered on a number of things over the years and the frustration of that," Smith said on a webinar hosted by the financial advisor network PSG. "You pick up the paper or you click online and you all see all the negativity and the disappointment and the frustration in people's lives and livelihoods being affected, so it's been a tough period post that [3TC] game."

The 3TC match is the only cricket South African players have been part of since the country went into lockdown in March. It took place ten days after England and West Indies became the first cricket countries to show their support for BLM. The first South African player to be asked for this thoughts on the matter was Lungi Ngidi, who said he hoped his team-mates would join other sporting personalities in taking a stand against racism. The next day, Pat Symcox, Boeta Dippenaar, Rudi Steyn and Brian McMillan questioned Ngidi's stance and asked him to show similar consideration for the victims of farm murders. That, in turn, sparked a racially charged conversation that is continuing in cricket circles.

Smith supported Ngidi, first in a statement on social media, and then at the 3TC match and reiterated that today. "Lungi, in my mind, said nothing wrong. He expressed an opinion - he didn't make a statement - and expressed the fact that the team was going to get together and have a conversation and in no right did he deserve to be attacked. What happened to him and the way the guys came at him is entirely wrong," Smith said.

South Africa's players have since spoken about the BLM movement and are headed to a culture camp at the Kruger National Park this week to discuss team identity, and Smith is pleased with the unity in the ranks. "Within the space, we've handled it extremely maturely. We got together, we listened, the conversation was open, people shared and we decided to support each other in this movement," Smith said. "That's what taking a knee meant to us. The fact that we are all together. I haven't seen the team having such an honest conversation in a few years, which is great."

But that containment of togetherness has not captured the entire cricket community and Smith expects there is more soul searching to be done. He categorises the stories of discrimination into two groups: those that were a consequence of South Africa's divided past and those that resulted from the nature of competitive sport. "It's not only sport, its business and life as well. There's lost heroes everywhere. We've got to be able to listen and share in the stories other guys are bringing to the fore as well, understand where they are coming from and the goal for us is to try and find a way to move forward in the right direction," he said.

"Sport is also brutal. Cricket is brutal. It's a high performing environment, your personal performance is always under scrutiny whether you are a batter, a bowler, and with sport you also have people who feel begrudged not getting that opportunity, not getting enough of a chance and it's a fine line between the two."

So how does Smith, in his role as director of cricket, work towards increasing opportunities for all? A common answer offered is in grassroots projects, and that is one area where CSA has invested heavily in. Last year, R358 million (approx. US $20.6 million) was spent on development and Smith is spending some of his time trying to ascertain if it was spent smartly enough. "The strategies around how we bring people through and grow the game is something we can debate because for that amount of money, you want to be seeing rewards," he said.

He also called on the government to assist, tying in with his earlier point that many of the structural inequalities that remain from the Apartheid era have not been addressed. "At what point do governments step in and help with the growth of the game and the facilities?" Smith asked. "Cricket is not a cheap sport. You can't just pick it up and run around. You need the bat, the ball, the facilities. Our goal is to create heroes and if we can create a high performing team, where there are no questions around selection, from a political point of view, people will resonate with it. We want to see the game represent all the people. We want to be successful. Let's get it going."