The controversy over some All Blacks displaying the Tino Rangatiratanga flag after Sunday’s test against Italy, and TJ Perenara’s modification of the haka, has spawned a passionate national conversation.
Those players have an absolute right to express themselves, but there are certain situations where saying or acting how you want is counterproductive.
While the law should never limit freedom of speech and expression, common sense and respect for the occasion or location, and point of view of others, should. As an All Black, representing all New Zealanders, guidance on choosing the right occasion or location can be found in the wise old saying that sport and politics should never mix. There are no exceptions to this rule. Until Sunday the All Blacks had been very disciplined in keeping to this rule, at least since the advent of professional rugby.
I can enter a synagogue, and I have an absolute right under freedom of expression to unfurl a Palestinian flag therein, but it would be incredibly stupid and disrespectful of me to do so. Likewise, if I visited a mosque and started handing out recipes for sweet and sour pork.
So, while I will defend the player’s rights to express themselves freely, they should have known this was not the right place or time to do so. First, because it was a sports game, and people pay to attend and watch, and come together, precisely to get away from the divisive political and social issues of the day. Secondly, the All Blacks mana has been built by the 1,223 men who have played for the team since 1905. TJ Perenara and others had no right to appropriate the privileged platform afforded by that legacy to posture their private political views. No All Black does.
It is difficult to predict the extent of the fall out for the All Blacks and rugby – a sport already on the ropes with a marked decline in interest in New Zealand in recent years. But the fact remains, the actions present a risk (whether small or large remains to be seen) to the All Blacks brand, and did not advance the interests of the cause the players sought to promote one inch.
I have to agree. No one benefits from stunts like this, it only causes more division.
They could do 100x more for Maori by fronting an anti child bashing campaign. Just saying
PR disaster 101
The All Blacks have lost all respect. They are playing crap rugby so I dont bother to watch. Rugby NZ need to front up and sort this crap. Any player who uses a game for political reasons should be dropped, Also how many Maori were in the team anyway. Maori represent about 17% and dont forget when you see crowds at Eden Park how many more ethnicities are watching the game
I can enter a synagogue, and I have an absolute right under freedom of expression to say there were no homicidal gas chambers.
You can’t say that in Russia
Dear Editor
I agree that sport and politics should never mix. But after more than 50 years of enjoying sport, I have been forced to accept the harsh conclusion that sport and politics always mix and continue to mix. One current example of this mixture over the past few years are the online chess games in which each online chess profile is automatically given the flag of their country except for those profiles from Russia, Belarus etc which have a blank grey box instead of their flag, while the Ukrainian flag is brightly displayed on profiles listing Ukraine as the chess player’s country. You might recall that Russian athletes could not compete in the recent Paris Olympics under their own flag. Some might also recall the woke messaging displayed on the armbands of players in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Finals. It’s therefore impossible to escape politics in sport. The sporting events described above in this paragraph have much more global and international engagement than international rugby.
NZ has a clearly evidenced history of exceptionally naive hypocrisy in this regard. The National government won the 1975 election in which one of Robert Muldoon’s campaign slogans was that politics should not interfere with sport. The same government consistently stuck to their policy when it came to rugby with South Africa with the Cavaliers. But the very same government forgot their policy when they banned NZ athletes from competing in the 1980 Moscow Olympics after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979. Muldoon’s National government demonstrated corrupt dictatorial practices when denying athletes annual leave to compete in the 1980 Olympics then further sealed their hypocrisy the following year when passing the Holidays Act 1981 which made annual leave sacrosanct.
You have clearly promoted and endorsed censorship under the naive construct that sport and politics should not mix. And I’m disappointed because I had huge respect for DTNZ until reading it this morning. While I agree they shouldn’t mix, the sad reality is that sport and politics always mix and the “wise old saying” you refer to is proven and foolish hypocrisy in NZ. The All Blacks have already lost the mana they commanded in the 1970s and 80s precisely because of this hypocrisy.
No one is saying politics and sport haven’t mixed as you point out with examples. They are saying they should never mix, or else you get the situation the sport is facing now with the alienation of a large group of fans. Just go on social media and look at the reaction. The editor is right, there is a time and place for everything. Do protests in a way that are actually constructive. This incident reminds me of those climate activists who throw paint and vandalise famous artworks. It achieves nothing but a backlash against their cause.
Storm in a teacup. The bashlash will fizzle out once they start whipping the Springbox again. They will lose some supporters as a result, but the masses will be back come the World Cup. The bigger issue for the rugby union is that people aren’t that interested in rugby anymore and are choosing other sports and entertainment. Bread and circuses you know…
It’s ironic to think that rugby used by Mandela had a big role in healing South Africa post-apartheid, but people like Perenara are now using it to promote apartheid in Aotearoa.
Haven’t watched/followed them in years and after stunts like this, wont be in future, either…….
Mandela was a terrorist. Bombs in market places.
Nasty piece of work.
At least he’s in another place now, smiling lovingly up at us.
I have been a supporter for nearly 40 years, they’ve lost me. Politics should stay out of sport period. Three things to keep to yourself and live a happy life: politics, sport and religion.
The management have to look at themselves,may explain why they played so poorly, divided on the field and off
politics and sport don’t mix and using the All Blacks as a platform is not acceptable, in fact it shows no respect for
the jersey and the ones that have gone before. Lost me as a fan and supporter
Bread and circuses, why buy into the political side? If you enjoy the sport then leave it at that, your choice with discipline. If you enjoy political debate then take it from there, your choice (doesn’t need much discipline lol). All a show to cause division by an elite (delusional set) that think they can control all…..problem is many are buying into the show
Morons with stupid opinions.
Oh well whatever.