New Zealand rugby union chiefs on Thursday condemned “lowlife” racial abuse aimed at Auckland Blues coach Pat Lam after the team’s worst-ever start to a Super Rugby season.
New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) chief executive Steve Tew said he was appalled at the attacks, while Blues chief executive Andy Dalton described them as “ugly” and “totally unacceptable.”
Lam, a New Zealander of Samoan descent, broke down in tears on Wednesday describing how he and his family have faced anonymous racial abuse on social media and talkback radio over the Blues’ performances.
Dalton said some comments on the Blues’ own Web site had suggested the team’s form slump was because of Lam’s Pacific island background, despite attempts to moderate the site’s content.
“We are dealing with a lot of criticism that is racially motivated on our Web site, we’re deleting that and have filters in place, but some of it’s getting through and certainly some has impacted on Pat’s family,” Dalton told Radio New Zealand. “I can’t even repeat them, I wouldn’t waste my breath frankly, but they are absolutely lowlife.”
Dalton said the entire Auckland franchise was hurting after losing five of their first six opening matches, but singling out Lam’s ethnicity was not acceptable.
“It’s not racism within Auckland rugby, I think it’s an element of our society,” he said. “It’s a very ugly part of our society and we’ve all got a responsibility to shut that down.”
Tew said the NZRU had a zero-tolerance approach to racism, but the anonymous jibes about Lam’s ethnicity pointed to a wider problem in New Zealand.
“As a New Zealander — because I don’t think this is only a rugby issue — I’m appalled,” Tew told reporters.
“I find the whole ability by people to hide behind social media, and be faceless and to criticize people personally, and to bring race and religion or anything else into it, is just a very disappointing part of our country,” he said.
Lam choked up on Wednesday recounting the vitriolic attacks he and his family had endured as the three-time champions struggle in this year’s competition.
“It’s the faceless people, and that’s social media and so forth and talkback, when people say things that are pretty offensive, making out that it’s because I’m an islander that we’re losing, that’s just offensive,” he told reporters.
New Zealand is a major destination for migrants from Polynesia and almost a third of the All Blacks’ 30-man squad that won the Rugby World Cup last year boasted Pacific islander heritage.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was