Volume: Volume 9(2) - 2005

Article type: Refereed article

Author/s: Louw, Andre

The article tackles a contentiious subject: the implications of transformative policies in the field of professional sport and, by extension, in employment more generally. One central concern is the effect of such policies on [he employment rights of professional sports players; another is the future of professional sport itself.

While most of South Africa's top sporting teams remain predominantly white, the author argues that there is an inherent contradiction between the principles of 'universality' (emphasising 'demographic representation' in sports learns) and 'meril' (emphasising performance standards irrespective of race). The article puts forward a far-reaching critique of government policy from the perspective of upholding 'merit' and concludes by suggesting that 'the ANC's current intervention in sport has occasioned a shift from 'no normal sport in an abnormal society' to one of 'abnormal sport in a normalising soclety'.

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