Murderer allowed to play rugby

D

dlk001

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A row has erupted over the inclusion of a convicted former Waterkloof High School pupil in Mpumalanga's provincial rugby team.

Defending the selection of Gert van Schalkwyk, Mpumalanga Rugby Union (MRU) Hein Mentz said on Wednesday the player was being given a fair chance to continue his rugby career.

He said Van Schalkwyk — part of the Waterkloof Four — had appealed against his conviction and sentence for murder and assault charges and the case remained sub judice.

Van Schalkwyk, Christoff Bekker, Frikkie du Preez, and Reinach Tiedt — four whites — were found guilty of the murder of an unidentified black man and of assaulting another.

Out on bail pending appeal

They were sentenced to 12-years in prison each but are currently out on bail pending the outcome of their appeal, which will be heard on 29 April 2008.

"The MRU has always stood for fairness and reason. It is against this background that Mr Van Schalkwyk was given a fair opportunity to continue his rugby career in Mpumalanga," Mentz said.

He said while the Mpumalanga Rugby Union was "strongly opposed to crime and criminal activities/deeds of any nature", it objected to the media's "condemnation and crucification" of Van Schalkwyk.

"For all practical purposes, the case against Mr Van Schalkwyk is still sub judice, and he should therefore not be judged or censured."

Another of the four, Christoff Becker, hit the headlines last year when he landed a role in a South African television commercial.

He was studying drama at the Act Studios in Cape Town, where he was selected for the advertisement.

Sapa
 
Hmmm, convicted criminals in jail can vote, a man with a fraud and corruption case against him can be president, a man who spent time in jail can be a ANC bigwig, our police bosses are on trial for corruption and gun running - so, yeah, let the whitie play rugby.

Good lord.
 
On a side note, I love the way the race is given when the criminal is white. Makes it very easy to read the news.
Race given - easy. Not given? Black.
 
Moederloos said:
On a side note, I love the way the race is given when the criminal is white. Makes it very easy to read the news.
Race given - easy. Not given? Black.
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spot on, case in point ---> the arson "attack" on Lithuli house - been rather quiet on that one... hmmmm...
 
Wasn't one of the Springboks from a few years back in a bit of the same trouble? A Bulls player - gosh I'd be wrong if I tried to guess his name.

And Lawrence Sephaka (?) also killed someone in a car accident.

I don't think I have a problem with him playing while he is out on appeal - I don't think that he should be allowed to represent the country though (assuming that he ever gets that far). No matter how good he may be. While he may have served his sentence I think that maybe representing your country sends a wrong message.
 
He shouldnt be able to play IMO,he killed someone and shouldnt be allowed to do things he enjoys..
 
Albereth said:
Wasn't one of the Springboks from a few years back in a bit of the same trouble? A Bulls player - gosh I'd be wrong if I tried to guess his name.
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If I remember correctly it was Henry Tromp, a Bulls hooker, who was selected for the Boks (World Cup squad in 1995) but never represented the team after the media convicted him a second time.

As for this kid Gert van Schalkwyk, I believe he should be allowed to play until the case is finalised.
Like some of you say, if he was black it wouldn't even be an issue, hell he'd probably be forced into the Springbok team.
 
zeb said:
As for this kid Gert van Schalkwyk, I believe he should be allowed to play until the case is finalised.
Like some of you say, if he was black it wouldn't even be an issue, hell he'd probably be forced into the Springbok team.
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Rubbish, he wouldn't have got bail.
 
Surv0 said:
he should be given a chance until the court rules against him, if they will.
If hes convicted.. then no rugby allowed..
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He is convicted.

Wow, great legal team to convince a court to give a convicted murderer bail!:eek:
 
zeb said:
Oh come on. Black murderers and rapists get out on R50 bail. Half of them never to be seen again.
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Correction, generally you get bail while on trial or before, you would be hard pressed to find one who was given bail AFTER conviction.:rolleyes:
 
If they are still working out the Appeal then technically its not a shut case...
hypothetically if hes innocent, and got convicted wrongly, then appealing should put everything on hold, if its accepted.
dont really know much about the case itself, but if he did infact murder, then he should be allowed to play.
 
zeb said:
Oh come on. Black murderers and rapists get out on R50 bail. Half of them never to be seen again.
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+1 on the above.

WtF does being White have to do with it?

Would you like me to get started on the UFS thing too? I'd recommend not.

Now, in brief...half of our .gov have been implicated in corruption, financial crimes, etc.

We've had - and have - convicted and not, rapists, murderers, manslaughter[ers] [?], etc. on our sports teams...and yet, no mention is made of race.

I too think the kid should be locked away, but the mention of race ticks me off no end.

Shall I contribute to the race mention?

The guys who've robbed, hijacked, and attempted these again, on me...were Black.

The guys who stole, shot at, and threatened me over the years...were Black.

The guys who assaulted, beat on, and swore one-sided racial insults at me...were Black.

Shall I continue?

Let's get this straight. Us, Whites live here too. We're not aliens...I won't go into ZA's original history either.

Get a F'ing clue.

I'm not wrong for being White, and you sure as Hell are not 'right' for being Black.
 
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