Gary Player was featured (November issue) in the Sunday Times sports section. He was described as "forever young" in his life's journey. The article was praiseworthy of Player, but failed to address his dark side - his affaire de coeur with the apartheid regime.
In his book Grand Slam Golf, Player wrote: "I am of the South Africa of Verwoerd and apartheid . . . to maintain civilised values and standards amongst the alien barbarians . . . The African . . ." In addition, it was no secret that Player was used as a de facto ambassador for the apartheid government, and lent his support to the government's Committee in Fairness for Sport to overcome South Africa's global boycott. Player was subsequently added to the UN's blacklist for breaking the sports boycott.
Even though Player is presumably no longer a racist bigot, his racism, in past years, must not be ignored, and must be added to the mix in immortalising him "South Africa's Sportsman of the 20th Century."
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