The current influence of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in sport has crossed national boundaries in the United States and has spread across the globe.

Locally, cricketers such as Lungi Ngidi, Rassie van der Dussen, Anrich Nortje as well as former rugby players and coaches have given their support and shared stories of racism in their sport.

Unfortunately this is nothing new in South African sport with well documented episodes during the years. Now the athletes though are beginning to open up these wounds in search of healing, redemption, justice and equality.

One wonders though that if sports people and society in general had been geared to invest in love, if a lot of past injustices would have been healed by now.

The key component that everyone across the globe seems to forget is that love matters. That is the primary ingredient to stop racism – love your brother like you do yourself.

Society has forgotten how to love and instead fear has crept in, an unawareness of other’s beliefs, culture and social circumstances. If people looked past the inside and taken time to really love and care for one another then the incident of former Proteas fast bowler, Makhaya Ntini feeling alone in the Proteas change room, might have been different.

Love is what is missing in the world. People are in love with sport, their favourite teams or sport stars, but ironically do not show love to their fellow human beings.

Yes, black lives do matter, but without love we can easily be too focused on our differences in skin colour, religion, culture and social background.

Nelson Mandela, the former SA president, also advocated a stance on the importance of love:

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”

If love matters, then black lives would automatically matter. We would respect, cherish and support one another – instead the world has grown selfish and divided. You are either with us or against us – not the culture that sport wants to create.

According to the Black Lives Matter official web page, Black Lives Matter began as a call to action in response to state-sanctioned violence (police brutality) and anti-Black racism in 2013.

Now 7 years later the support for the movement has been overwhelming with various viewpoints as well as An All Lives matter counter argument.

The problem with All Lives Matter is that it deflects attention away from the serious societal problems that a lot of black people have to endure. Rather than going for an All Lives Matter approach focus on Love Matters. If we love then we will cherish each life without racist connotations. We cannot judge but we can try to understand another person and build relationships. Rather than building walls in sport let’s build windows and embrace our differences for the sake of unity.

One of the key topics of discussion in South Africa, is the current BLM movement in Cricket South Africa. The recent Solidarity Cup held on 18 July (former SA president, Nelson Mandela’s birthday) saw players, former players, coaches and administrators kneeling to show their support.

A gesture that was applauded by a large majority, but was lambasted by a number of angry South Africans on social media who also feel that All Lives Matter. The problem is that this creates division, and we as South Africans have quite a troubled history and problematic socio-economic landscape. Yes, Farm Murders also occur and we should stand up for this injustice, but not by blaming one group of starting a movement. Rather start a new movement and educate the uninformed. Knowledge is power.

We cannot turn a blind eye to those in need, but we cannot solve the problem with a one-eyed approach. Instead we should support love and the principles of love. We all bleed the same and it’s up to this generation to change the wrongs of the past.

Sport should be a vehicle for unity, but in South Africa racial issues continue to divide the country such as the quota system where an enforced amount of black players must be part of a national team. It has its benefits in creating opportunities for disadvantaged players in the past, but also creates an atmosphere for unrest and uncertainty. An example of this lies in the Aya Myoli vs Robbie Frylinck episode that recently made the news. Players must be given equal opportunities – but unfortunately our economic climate does not always help, as a class divide is still separating cultures. It is heart-breaking to see school kids wondering whether they are good enough or just there to make up the numbers because of their skin colour.

Sport is giving an opportunity to create awareness and this is paramount in creating a topic or debate and change – everyone has the right to free speech, but hate and discrimination should never be the words that rule speech.

Stand up for something but always do it out of love, because “love covers a multitude of sins” – 1 Peter 4:8.

As Paul  also said in the Bible in 1 Corithians 13:7:

“Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”