David Teeger stripped of captaincy ahead of Under-19 WC as threat of protests looms

A staggering indictment of the cowardice from CSA (and/or their political overseers) in not standing up to those who wish to smear or endanger a fellow South African sportsman who does the country proud. Have the CSA kowtowed to the vile activists who wish to delegitimise every Jew they see? How sickening. This is a shameful action that has the fetid odour of antisemitism, and an egregious breach of David's right to free speech. Perhaps if he was a Hamas supporter they would have garlanded him with further accolades. Yours in revulsion

I think it's an important lesson - keep your political thoughts and feelings to yourself. LOL

So he can PLAY, but he can't captain, and that's going to miraculously remove the 'threat of violence' between supporters? What an unadulterated load of crap. CSA is as disgusting as the ANC.

Anti Jewish and cowardly. We will end up losing a talented young man to a country that is not run by clowns

Good move CSA. His statements were an absolute disgrace, supporting the genocide committed by a country following in the footsteps of Nazi Germany. I hope he leaves. We don't need him. I have a high regard for Wim Trengove, but this is one issue he got totally wrong.

What a bunch of spineless and useless users.

He should pack his bags and go play in the Uk or Oz. Why waste his talents here.

He'll still be there, the protestors will be there, and he's going to be targetted. We've seen rugby players and officials retire after the World Cup because of threats they received. I support the right to protest, but that right should not go as far as assault. He should play. The protestors should protest. Everybody should go home by their own power at the end of the day.

How sad is this witch hunt. The political influence in sport and CSA in particular is criminal. You can riot, loot, pillage, burn, destroy and steal with impunity in South Africa, but do not hurt a persons feelings with words!

There is no place for politics in sport either way.

Cricket South Africa once again reveals itself as an earthworm - slimy, no spine, no gender, and subsisting off its own faeces. After initially supporting this young man, they carefully time their turnaround to cause maximum humiliation. You don't have to be Jewish. Quinton de Kok had to endure the exact same "make it up as you go along" policy.

Garbage. CSA is just an ANC proxy. ANC = HAMAS ergo… put the Jews down. Security threats over rival protesters? BS. The only violence and security risks will come from the Hamas supporters. We have witnessed this across the world. Teeger should find a career elsewhere. SA citizenship is worth nothing anyway.

What did he say???

Talented cricket player. Just not sure if his comments were appropriate at a public forum, although found innocent by SC advocate Wim Trengrove, one of the top lawyers in the country. Just think sportsman should not get involve in political matters, in particular as a leader, especially in a highly emotional issue such as this one.

We would love him in Australia. Australian batter Usman Khawaja was charged by the International Cricket Council for wearing a black armband in the first Test against Pakistan, in support of people in Gaza, however, there was no witchhunt or blood libel to remove him. David Teeger didn't express his political opinion in a cricket match like Usman Khawaja, he remarked while getting an award from a Jewish organisation. Get out of that racist antisemitic country David Teeger. You can join your fellow South African compatriot Marnus Labushein :-)

Will CSA also remove players who expressed support for Hamas against Israel? I mean if there’s a risk of violence against a player who supports Israel surely there’s a risk of violence against players who support Hamas or the Palestinians? Or is the risk of violence only from Palestinian supporters? Thinks…

Fuming about this whimpish action! Let the youngster play his cricket supported by Cricket SA. How less of a security risk is he as a team member than a captain? Disgraceful!

Boom! Another talented player we can look out for playing against the Proteas one day.

Cowards. Disgusting. He made the comments at a Jewish function NOT at a sporting function. Perfectly acceptable.

CSA. What a disgrace. An independent review board didn't give you what you wanted so now you come up with this. Because of CSA, a lot of South Africans have lost interest in South African cricket. If that had been a Palestinian kid supporting Hamas not a word would have been said. Time to boycott CSA.

He should refuse to play! Disgusting capitulation to intimidation - thugs rule!

This is not the first time Lawson Naidoo is in a situation like this . It is a shame for SA. Pure anti-semitism

And thus is talent cast aside in this bare-faced racist CSA.

Cowards. One by one, all institutions and entities where there was any decency have been eroded and interfered with. What would Ali Bacher have done? One thing is for sure, from visiting the Wanderers at least 10 times a year, I will no longer be seen in the “Bullring” while these morons are in charge.

Ridiculous decision by CSA. These are our future sportsmen, keep politics out of sport

This CSA board need skills from other successful nations such as England, Australia and India in especially handling conflicts. Or consult with our own highly skilled administrators of the past whom have been sidelined due to reverse racism. This talented youngster should move to another country. Did anyone question as to why our two most talented players, Heinrich Klaasen and Quentin de Kock, suddenly retired from the test arena? Thanks to our stinking unknowledgable, uneducated administration.

What an utter disgrace by the anc cricket body But what did you expect from racist and white hating cricket administrators , any excuse will do I hope Teeger leaves SA for any decent cricket playing country and where cricket is not the playball of the government like in anc country

Cowardly move by CSA. Will expect him to emigrate and eventually play for England or Australia after being treated like this

This reminds me of Jews being excluded from sporting events in the 1930’s, being kicked out of businesses healthcare and homes. It fills me with such horror sadness and loss. Has nothing being learnt from the mistakes of the past.

So, a further move away from merit-based team and captain selection. Now the selectors no longer have to pick a team that fulfills certain racial quotas, but also have to interrogate all players as to their politician affiliations and ideologies, perhaps next their religion and sexual orientation?

Teens should STFU when it comes to politics if they're in a national team. Am definitely NOT a Hamas fan but the decision to revoke his captaincy is understandable after he expressed his adulation for the IDF.. Why should our SA youngsters be exposed to any sort of protests? All these armchair warriors saying the CSA are cowards and Teeger should go as captain forget what the Springboks and others went thru in the 70's and 80's..

This teenager first needs to go through an investigation where top legal scholars think its ok to stand in judgment of him, get to opine on his speech. To judge him. He eventually gets cleared. Then punished anyway. Jewish people are hopelessly outnumbered. Bigots have numbers on their side. I now understand the saying that ignorance is evil. Haters think they have pure souls. Just like the Nazis in 1935.

What a circus.

I am amazed it took so long after all the frenzy of debate and hysteria. He should have been asked to stand down immediately after making the statement. A sportsman, especially as the captain of a team, should not make controversial statements unrelated to sport. However, it must be pointed out that not so long ago the Proteas were virtually forced to take the knee to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. This casts doubt upon the agenda of the CSA.

Why not ban spectators from waving Palestinian or Israeli flags?

Why not ban spectators from waving Palestian/Hamas and Israeli flags.

It is well within the rights and prerogative of CSA to choose who should be the captain of SA's under 19. It is not discriminatory to remove Teeger after his stupid comments. It is discriminatory if CSA had not included him in the squad without a valid reason.

Not too long ago the CSA respected Hashim Amla's religious convictions: he was allowed not to wear branding on his clothes that promoted a brewery. I know that was about religious views rather than political ones, but it is clear that that level of tolerance has gone. Likewise, the CSA allowed politics to enter the sporting arena when players supported the BLM cause. Why is Teeger not allowed to make a comment in his personal capacity at a function far removed from the cricket field and the U19 team, whereas other players are allowed to bring politics onto the field - and politics that were highly contentious, as we saw with the De Kock saga and some ex-players' racist responses? There needs to be consistency and no more hypocrisy.

I sincerely hope David tells them where they can shove their tournament and immediately return to SA.

Bullshit doesn’t baffle brains.

Missing from this article is what David Teeger said at the Jewish Achiever Awards and said: “I'm now the rising star, but the true rising stars are the young soldiers in Israel. And I'd like to dedicate it to the state of Israel and every single soldier fighting so that we can live and thrive in the diaspora.” Perhaps he has not read the news, that these rising stars are responsible for the targeted deaths of over 300 medics, over 100 reporters, almost 24 000 civilians, and several thousand unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble. The rising starts that dance around on TikTok boasting of child killings. There are many people worldwide who do not share the celebratory tone. It is understandable that there are consequences, and I trust that the wider team does not bare the consequence.

I really think Teeger got out very lightly. He was supposed to have been stripped off his position in the squared. As ambassador representing our country we don't expect such utterance considering how much the Palestinians have suffered from these God's masquerading chosen pretenders.

A very sad commentary on our society.

Let's be clear about one thing. South Africa, as it currently stands in its current dispensation, was founded by activists and humanitarians, and not conquerers! We were founded by people who gained the freedom from oppression through diplomacy and reconciliation, not through some great war. We didn't "manifest destiny" or own half of the earth to get us here, we simply sat down with our former oppressors and said, let us end this and move forward. So a decision to be against Israel, a nation that supported Apartheid is EXACTLY what is expected from a government that FOUGHT AGAINST APARTHEID! How do people not get this?! This laaitie, supports a nation that sought to preserve the oppressive regime of his nation. He supported an Israeli regime, that is enacting the same Apartheid to Palestinians in the West Bank. He is no different to me than Malema. So his demotion is an apt response, but I think he would also need rehabilitation. He needs to understand the nation that he's representing, and be connected to its history and be loyal to it...not to an overseas ethno-nationalistic right wing regime.

We should discourage pro-Apartheid statements, especially from somebody that has been chosen to represent our rainbow nation in a formal capacity. An excellent decision.

i support this. those are not statements from a captain/leader. he is very young, so he has time to learn. lots of people getting upset about nothing here.

The comments either for or against is proving that this whole incident is a distraction for the team , when they should be concentrating on winning the competition. Has any one considered how the other players feel .

A sad political decision.

Leave SA boet, go start a career in Eng, Aus or NZ. You'll surely play international cricket not long after. CSA is politically driver (and dead...)

Politics should NEVER be a part of sport.