The 16th Man Q’s

Allison Rinehart

1. Rugby resembled Apartheid in South Africa in that it was a system of segregation. Only
white players were on the team, with no representation for the black majority. Both were
institutions that relentlessly segregated, but eventually crumbled and constructed a
system of diversity. When Chester Williams joined the rugby team as the only black
man, a system of inclusion and a breaking of barriers thrived in the country. Rugby
became a symbol of national pride, bringing South Africans together and out of the deep
racism of Apartheid.
2. In 1985, 26 people were charged with the murder of one police officer, who for the most
part was killed by Justice Bekebeke, an anti-Apartheid demonstrator. Instead of
honestly investigating who killed him, the South African law system quickly arrested as
many people as possible and quickly tried to indict them. 14 of those people ended up
on death row until they were acquitted or released after prison time. There was heavy
discrimination in the Apartheid era against black Africans, and this is a prime example.
The majority population was mistreated in every section of life, especially legally. As
Apartheid faded, these peoples’ sentences were reduced or completely eradicated.
South Africa gradually returned to a system of equality, albeit with the sacrifice of those
26 for prison time.
3. Rugby was a target of anti-apartheid protests because it used racist policies for its
teams. South Africa only had white players on its rugby team, and they enacted
discrimination policies in order to keep other races out. In fact, they expressed this
outrage early on in 1960, when the New Zealand rugby tour was canceled due to the
fact that they had indigenous New Zealanders, or Maori, on the team. When these
instances came to light, anti-Apartheid protestors saw an institution that needed to
change for the good of everyone.
4. Far right extremists were angry that Nelson Mandela was freed from prison. To them,
he was a left-wing extremist and Communist who would destroy Africa. There were
demonstrations in which these people expressed their discontent with Mandela not only
being free but also in the presidency. However, he rose above the hate and continued
to lead South Africa fairly and justly.
5. Mandela used rugby to reconcile race relations in South Africa by supporting its national
team, the Springboks. The team was all white, and it was a symbol of Apartheid
segregation to black South Africans. To repair the often violent racial tension, Mandela
used an unconventional route: sports. Since the public trusted him, putting his support
behind the Springboks made the population reconsider their previous hostility to the
team. Eventually, the citizens put away their differences to cheer on the Springboks at
the Rugby World Cup in 1995. At least, most of them did. Justice Bekebeke, an anti-
Apartheid protestor and a member of the Upington 26, saw Mandela’s support as a
betrayal. He couldn’t believe someone who believed in the same ideals as he would go
so far as to support a symbol of segregation and racism. However, once Bekebeke
realized that hating the team wouldn’t get him anywhere, he saw how Mandela was
uniting South Africa and he changed his mind about the President’s decision. Mandela
 used something as domestic as sport to change not only the culture but the ideals of the
country and bring peace throughout South Africa.
6. This episode of 30 for 30 is called the 16th man because it refers to Nelson Mandela’s
support of the team. There were 15 players on the team, and when he gave his support,
he became the “16th member” of the team. By putting his allegiance behind the
Springboks, he gave invaluable inspiration and assistance in getting the team to victory.
Now that a whole country was behind them, the motivation for South Africa to win was
unstoppable.
7. Often, sports seems to be the catalyst for change and healing when nothing else will be.
In the face of conflict, South African rugby gave peace to the nation and united a people.
This isn’t the only example of such a thing happening. In the American conscious, a
more recent instance is the World Series set right after the 9/11 attacks. The game was
between the New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks. With President George W.
Bush throwing the first pitch, the World Series became a reminder that the country could
move on from such trauma. In this way, America became united by a simple few games.
Only a few years ago, Colin Kaepernick used sports to protest the injustices caused by
police brutality in America. And all he had to do was kneel during the national anthem.
He caught the world’s attention, and thus began an important conversation about the
quality of life for African Americans in the United States. Sports can be used to heal
countries and begin to address the problems in them.