KwaZulu-Natal Athletics (KZNA) on Wednesday released a statement condemning ‘alleged racist remarks’ made by a Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) board member on a WhatsApp group.
KZNA confirmed the message was posted on Tuesday afternoon.
The message, with the identity of the sender hidden, read: “Guys you can recruit as many members as possible. Our new GM has recruited as many vanilla people as possible and as it stands we have close to new 400 members (all vanilla) who have joined and want to attend AGM in November to take back the CMA Board to be whites only.”
While the identity of the board member was not verified, KZNA said it would investigate the incident seriously.
The athletics body said: “KZN Athletics takes these remarks extremely seriously and is appalled by the content of the message, which is completely unacceptable and contrary to the values of our organisation.
“As an athletics body, we pride ourselves on promoting inclusivity, respect and diversity among our members. We believe that every individual should be treated with dignity and respect, regardless of their race, gender or background.”
KZNA president Steve Mkasi said his organisation had taken exception to the comments.
“We condemn these remarks in the strongest possible terms. We find the tone of the message unpalatable and not in the interest of our sport,” said Mkasi.
“KZN Athletics will write to the board of the CMA requesting them to take action against the said individual. We will not stand idly by while any individual seeks to undermine the values of our organisation. We will work tirelessly to create an environment where all members feel welcome, respected and valued.”