South Africa's lock Eben Etzebeth looks on during the captain's run training session at the Ecopa stadium in Shizuoka on October 3, 2019, during the Japan 2019 Rugby World Cup. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP)
Sports retail chain Totalsports has removed posters of Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth from 300 stores.
The chain, which is part of the Foschini group, appears to be reacting to some kind of controversy or outcry.
“The media controversy surrounding Eben Etzebeth has been felt in our stores. As a brand, we don’t do controversies, we do sport. We made the decision to remove his poster. Without taking sides/passing judgement, we wanted to ensure all our customers feel comfortable in our stores,” they said in a statement on Twitter.
However, any attempt to avoid outrage appears to have backfired, as the decision to take the posters down has itself caused an outcry from Springboks supporters who feel Etzebeth should be considered innocent until proven guilty.
A storm is in the process of brewing online, with a growing amount of social media users saying they will no longer support the brand.
Four criminal charges are being investigated against Etzebeth, though the National Prosecuting Authority in the Western Cape confirmed early in October that they had sent the docket back to the police for further investigation.
Two people alleged they were assaulted and two others said they were racially abused by the Springbok outside a pub in Langebaan.
READ MORE: ‘I was a fan,’ says man allegedly assaulted, racially abused by Etzebeth
It is alleged Etzebeth and a large group of friends reportedly used a racially loaded word against two people in a pub in Langebaan after ostensibly being harassed by a group of people at a nearby table who taunted him, allegedly saying he was a “shitty rugby player”.
Two men who alleged they were pistol-whipped along with two others who were allegedly racially abused by are seeking compensation totalling more than R1 million, according to Buang Jones of the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), which is representing the complainants in their Equality Court case.
In a twist, Etzebeth said he would be taking the SAHRC to court because of its decision to summarily stop its investigation into his alleged involvement in several racial incidents in Langebaan and rather immediately charge him in the Equality Court.
According to Netwerk24, the Springbok lock’s legal representatives submitted papers to the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg applying for the charges to be set aside due to the commission’s “illegal” action against him.
(Compiled by Daniel Friedman.)
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