David Teeger, the captain of the South African U/19 national cricket team, has been cleared of any wrongdoing after remarks he made in October.
Teeger had been speaking at a Jewish Achievers’ Dinner where he made comments expressing support for Israeli soldiers. The Palestinian Solidarity Alliance brought his remarks to the attention of Cricket South Africa (CSA). This led to CSA instilling an independent inquiry, led by veteran advocate, Wim Trengrove, to investigate Teeger’s remarks.
However, Teeger was cleared of any wrongdoing, with Trengrove saying that: ‘The Constitutional Court has made the point that the right to freedom of expression does not protect hate speech, but emphasised that the expression of unpopular or even offensive beliefs does not constitute hate speech.’
CSA said that it now considered the matter closed.
Yesterday Teeger was confirmed as the captain of the U/19 Proteas side which will play in the U/19 World Cup, due to be played in South Africa next month.
Another notable selection was that of Kwena Maphaka, the 17-year-old left-arm quick who has already turned out for South Africa A.