Local Tubby Reddy Classic stirs controversy
The movement had challenged the naming convention of the event, which honoured dismissed Sascoc CEO Tubby Reddy, who was suspended by the country’s Olympic body under a cloud of, among others, sexual harassment allegations, before being dismissed after being found guilty by a disciplinary committee.
SA Women Fight Back (SAWFB), a movement against gender-based violence, is disappointed that Volleyball South Africa (VSA) went ahead with the staging of last week’s Tubby Reddy Classic tournament at the John Barrable Hall in Benoni.
“VSA are complacent because they have not been challenged and nobody has formally protested against the naming of the tournament. We didn’t want to take opportunities away from the youth to play in the tournament,” said SAWFB member Taariya Reddy.
“We were contesting the name. There should never be a reason where society allows alleged sexual offenders to be put on a pedestal,” she added.
Taariya also mentioned that a coach who was previously fired from the University of Johannesburg, Gershon Rorich, and who was suspended by Sascoc after sexual harassment charges came to light, was allowed to be on the bench of Team Aqua Darshan at the Tubby Reddy Classic.
“It is well known that he still operates in volleyball circles. That, to us, shows an indifference to GBV issues and he should not be there. VSA are putting women and children at risk,” Taariya pointed out.
While SAWFB correspondence had been sent to Sascoc and its affiliates, informing them they would be petitioning all stakeholders, VSA seemed unaware of SAWFB’s objections.
SAWFB had also sent an objection letter via email to Ekurhuleni city manager Dr Imogen Mashazi (dated September 17) to raise awareness that the event was being held in “honour of a person that has been dismissed for serious charges, including sexual harassment” at a venue in her municipality. To date the correspondence remains unanswered.
The petition was sent to all Sascoc affiliates, but the majority of emails evidently bounced back, saying the address had been blocked. To date, no response has been received from Mashazi’s office.
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“With respect, this has nothing to do with VSA and is not for us to get involved,” said VSA president Anthony Mokeona when contacted by the City Times.
“It is about people fighting one another, between individuals and their employers/institutions, and should not concern VSA,” he added.
“If it was directly related to our organisation or its employees, then it’s different. We are not at liberty to intervene as this has no direct bearing on VSA or our operations.”
SAWFB, however, were disappointed at the “lack of sensitivity’ towards a very serious issue.
“We engaged with Sascoc for a response and started a petition, as it is not primarily a VSA issue. Via acting CEO Ravi Govender they agreed to accept a petition and said Sascoc was working on measures to keep women in sport safe.”
Taariya mentioned that Sascoc could not comment on the Tubby Reddy Classic as he had been suspended and fired and all due procedures were followed.
“It is an issue that prevails across many sporting codes. The Tubby Reddy Classic is an example that we used to highlight the disregard that sporting bodies have towards women,” said Taariya.
“What VSA don’t seem to understand is that we are not asking for excuses, just some sensitivity to the issues at hand because it is a nationwide issue. Allowing an individual previously accused of sexual offences to coach during a mandated event is throwing GBV in our faces and shows us they don’t care.”
It was also established that Wits University had cancelled the original booking for their Old Mutual Hall venue and the tournament was moved to Benoni, despite VSA having paid the required R20 000 deposit.
In an undated VSA letter addressed to managers and coaches of participating clubs, it claimed that “unfortunately the University had to succumb to outside pressure beyond its control to cancel our booking”.
SAWFB had not staged a picket at the venue during the tournament because they “respect the law”.
“We needed to give seven days’ notice and secure a permit but didn’t manage to do so. The petition remains active and is not only pertaining to volleyball but to all sporting codes.
“We receive many reports of alleged sexual harassment but they are not reported. The major reason is the fear of victimisation within their own sporting codes,” said Taariya.
