National team squabble casts shadow over league
Players blame vice-president
PROFESSIONAL basketball in South Africa is in turmoil following a major falling-out between players and management that climaxed in the disbanding and replacement of the men’s senior team before the recent Four Nations Challenge tournament in Johannesburg.
And the vice-president of Basketball South Africa (BSA), Albert Mokoena, appears to be at the centre of the controversy.
It was Mokoena, players said, who announced the replacement team. He is also accused of being behind the scrapping of an important pre-tournament training camp after players refused to sign an agreement with management on rules, regulations and benefits.
At issue was a clause dealing with the payment of stipends, medical insurance, remuneration for unpaid leave and the indemnification of BSA for injuries to players.
Mokoena declined to answer questions this week, saying that only the association could comment.
As the third season of the Basketball National League got underway yesterday, the tensions remained unresolved.
The former vice-captain of the men’s side, Tsakani Ngobeni, warned that the frustration of the sidelined players is likely to spill over into the league.
Ngobeni, who plays for Duzi Royals in Pietermaritzburg, said: “When the [league] starts, the cream of the crop is going to rise again. The guys who represented BSA in the Four Nations are going to have a long day. Those who were sidelined are going to take it out on them. They played instead of sitting out.
The Four Nations tournament, which included men’s sides from Nigeria, Kenya and Mozambique, was played at the Wembley Indoor Sports Complex in Springfield, Johannesburg, in March. South Africa fared indifferently, coming in third.
It came to a head when a pre-tournament training camp was cancelled and three senior players, Ngobeni, Neo Mothiba and former captain Lindo Sibankulu – who were accused of being the ringleaders of the dispute – were not called to a new camp.
But 10 other players refused to return to training when they learned that their teammates had been excluded.
Insisting that they were dismissed unfairly, Ngobeni said he, Mothiba and Sibankulu had met their lawyers to plan a court challenge, after an earlier application to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration was unsuccessful.
They said Mokoena had a “dictatorial style” and interfered with the selection of players.
“When we saw the replacement team for the Four Nations tournament on television, Mr Mokoena was there to do the honours, but we did not see the coach. That makes you wonder: Who is doing the coaching, is it the coach or Mr Mokoena?” Ngobeni asked.
When amaBhungane contacted Mokoena last week, he referred questions to BSA’s acting secretary general, Tsepo Nyewe, who said the association’s president, Graham Abrahams, is the only official authorised to deal with the media on policy issues.
He did not respond to an amaBhungane request for Abrahams’s mobile phone number and email address, or for an alternative spokesperson.