Willemse sticks with reasoning that racism caused his TV walk off

Ashwin Willemse declined taking part in the SuperSport investigation into his TV walkout, feeling that it was not the right forum to express his viewpoint. However in a lawyer’s letter to Advocate Vincent Maleka SC he maintains that racism fuelled the walking off.

Following Ashwin Willemse’s walk off live TV, claiming fellow presenters Nick Mallett and Naas Botha were “patronising him”, Maleka conducted an investigation that concluded in the final report that “no suggestions of racism” were found.

In the letter, Willemse’s attorneys maintained “that the May 19 incident was rooted in racism” and that Willemse informed the “CEOs on his submission to that effect”.

Willemse’s attorneys made it clear that “he persists with his view that racism was the cause of the incident and the narrative perpetuated by SuperSport that there was no racism reinforces his view and infringed his human rights and dignity”.

Maleka added that Willemse wanted the right to “redress that infringement in an appropriate forum”. – Sport24

SuperSport CEO Gideon Gobane expressed disappointment that Willemse did not partake in Maleka’s review, saying “While SuperSport is disappointed that Ashwin did not participate in Advocate Maleka’s review, it respects his right not to do so.”

He added, however that “In the spirit of reconciliation, I will make another attempt to reach out to Ashwin for us to find a mutually-acceptable way forward so that he knows that this issue has been fairly investigated.”