Update to the previous post

The decision has come quickly, and Herschelle Gibbs has paid the price for, what is in my view, indiscretion and simple bad luck: http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/rsavpak/content/current/story/276497.html

I don't mean to justify what he did, and apparently some of the things that he had said were too bad to be even hinted at in print. Saurabh had this to say about my earlier post, wherein I think he has raised the larger issue of the ghost inside the machine, rather than just the accident caused by a combination of circumstances. He says,

"..are the ideas of right and wrong based upon locality and convenience? the remarks - whatever they were - were found to be offensive by the committee. now, to say that "they were not meant for the public, but for the team"... doesn't make then right anymore."

I agree that the fact that Gibbs was caught mouthing whatever he was mouthing indicates something beneath the surface, namely the presence of some deep-rooted contempt and derision for Asian people. What surprises me is that Gibbs should be the one implicated, because he has, for a long time, been an automatic selection in the team along with Makhaya Ntini. Both these players have surpassed expectations in SA colours, while also making the stated agenda of including coloured players an easy one to implement.

Coming back to the point that I was trying to impress earlier, I'm less than enamoured with the idea that Gibbs deserved censure for what his opinions were, rather than that he was caught expressing them. It's not the politically correct thing to say, but I think it is fair to say that most, nay all, of us go through entire lifetimes addled with unreasonable and (at times) unfounded opinions on people and their philosophies. It's just that nobody comes asking us what we think, and most of us would rather keep our mouths shut than go and stick up for our trenchant views against people who differ.

Within the rules of the game, Gibbs got his just desserts, and in the future, I'm sure we won't hear any such chit-chat from him, but hey, he can always find ways to beat the microphone.

Adios!