AfriForum condemns Totalsports’s removal of Etzebeth stand-up posters

The civil rights organisation AfriForum condemns the decision by Totalsports to remove the stand-up posters of Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth from its shops. AfriForum also accuses the retailer of allowing itself to be tainted by racial politics.

Ernst Roets, Head of Policy and Action at AfriForum, says that Totalsports’s decision shows that the retailer group is willing to be dragged down by a racially motivated political narrative.

“Although Etzebeth is accused of making racist remarks at a brown person, he also denies these accusations. The case has not yet been heard and no ruling has yet been made on the facts. Despite this, the retailer group chooses to side against Etzebeth, thereby fuelling racial tension.

“Even if Totalsports says that it doesn’t want to take sides in the matter, the effect of its actions reflects that it has already declared him a controversial figure,” Roets concludes.