Dricus du Plessis will defend his UFC middleweight title on Sunday in Sydney. Photo: EPA
Break Point Column by Morgan Bolton
It is always deflating when you realise that your hero is only human, and that they have particular idiosyncrasies and short-comings that oppose your world-view and core beliefs.
I recall the year 2000, while still in high school in the south of Johannesburg, when news broke that Hansie Cronjé was implicated in a match-fixing scandal.
I refused to believe that the former Proteas captain – whom I adored and looked upon in high esteem – could betray me so, never mind the rest of the country.
After all, Cronjé – to my mind – was the very definition of integrity and honesty.
So, when the King Commission laid bare the truth, and Cronjé’s role in it, I was left heartbroken.
Now, over two decades later, recalling that moment in time and Cronjé’s subsequent death in 2002, it still hits me in the feels.
It is a scandal that cricket in this country still grapples with.
There remains distrust of the game and its administrators, and especially for those who can remember Cronjé’s fall, cricket is still tainted with a measure of suspicion.
There was a repeat of such utter despair, of a much more serious extent, when Oscar Pistorius murdered Reeva Steenkamp.
Collectively, we all went through the seven stages of grief – denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance – on that fateful night and during the subsequent trial that found him guilty of the crime committed on February 14, 2013.
I believe we saw such disappointment this past week. The backlash online – admittedly not the ultimate metric – seemed mostly negative.
There were various degrees of incredulity when Dricus du Plessis walked out in Sydney in a pre-fight conference ahead of his UFC middleweight championship defence against Sean Strickland, wearing a shirt stating: “Trump prefers champions,” referring to the controversial incumbent US President Donald Trump.
It was no doubt a “work” to create intrigue for Sunday’s bout, but it was also rather tone deaf – and a fully-loaded declaration that could only divide individuals based on the political spectrum.
‘Stillknocks’ would go on to state: "With everything going on right now, change is coming, good changes.
“Big shout-out to fellow South African Elon Musk for also doing the right thing. Trump prefers champions.
"With Trump being re-elected,” he added, “which is absolutely incredible, I think he’s an amazing, amazing president. I’ve had the privilege of meeting him.”
Of course, there were many that championed Du Plessis’ statement, praising him for speaking truth to power and exposing the lies of the South Africa government.
But the general feeling I got from my fellow countrymen and women was an immense sense of distress.
I think it is fair to say that Du Plessis has alienated important portions of South Africans with his utterances, especially in light of recent negative comments made by US politicians that threaten the sovereignty and security of our nation.
Personally, I don’t understand why anyone would be in support of Trump, or glorify his ideology from afar when it stands in direct conflict with those two Realist notions. I believe I am not alone in this outlook.
Du Plessis, of course, is free to express his opinion and his political views, as am I, for what it is worth (not much, I agree).
That is the beauty and privilege of this country, even with its myriad of terrible problems, such as the violent crime, gender-based violence and corruption.
All of those things, and more, do threaten to derail everything we have built, and are trying to create together.
But equally, it is every South African’s right to decide who and what they associate with, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if many choose to not wake up bleary-eyed on Sunday to watch Du Plessis’ fight.