Monday, December 18, 2006

MAJOLA AND KALLIS MEET ON ANTHEM

Cricket South Africa's CEO, Gerald Majola and Proteas Vice-Captain, Jacques Kallis, have met to discuss the issue surrounding the singing of the national anthem.

Majola said in a statement issued today: "Jacques has explained why he is silent during the singing of the anthem before international matches and his explanation is completely acceptable to Cricket South Africa.

"Jacques recently lost both his parents, and he was particularly close to his father who was his cricket mentor. They would often sing the anthem together, and his father was very proud of his son playing for South Africa.

"Jacques told me that he sings the anthem in his heart in a quiet moment in remembrance of his parents and in gratitude for what they did to allow him to be good enough to represent his country.

"He has great respect for the anthem and cherishes every moment he has represented South Africa around the world.

"All the Proteas' players understand the importance of the anthem, and they each pay tribute in their own way during the playing of the national anthem at international matches."

Jacques Kallis said in a statement: "The questioning of my patriotism and commitment to South Africa can easily be answered by visiting my website www.kallis.co.za and seeing the Jacques Kallis Scholarship Foundation I have set up and this will clearly illustrate my passion and willingness to redress the imbalances of the past.

"I hope my personal and family wishes would be respected and this matter would be settled."

No comments:

Post a Comment