CSA CEO Moroe stops short of apologising to players

Cape Town - Cricket South Africa (CSA) CEO Thabang Moroe has for the second time within the space of mere hours failed to make mention of - let alone apologise to - players affected by the current cloud hanging over his organisation.

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CSA came in for widespread criticism and condemnation following their decision to have the media accreditation of five prominent cricket journalists revoked in Cape Town and Johannesburg over the weekend.

CSA's actions led to SANEF calling for an apology to be extended to the affected writers, while the South African Cricketers' Association (SACA) called on the board of directors of CSA to act decisively in order to deal with the ongoing damage being caused to the game in South Africa. 

Furthermore, Proteas Test and ODI title sponsors Standard Bank expressed their "grave concern" at the current governance of cricket in South Africa. The banking giants called an urgent meeting with CSA's top brass on Monday.

Former CSA president Norman Arendse penned a no-holds-barred open letter in which he appealed to the beleaguered sports body to act against maladministration and the banning of the journalists.

On Tuesday morning Moroe apologised to the South African National Editors' Forum (SANEF) for the "mishap" - but stopped short of saying sorry to the game's most important commodity - the players.

Later on Tuesday afternoon, Moroe released a second apology via a CSA media statement, in which he apologised to "the Board of CSA, our members, our partners and sponsors, SANEF, and the many journalists and fans".

Once again, no mention of the players was made.

South African Cricketers' Association (SACA) chief executive Tony Irish was quick to take to Twitter, highlighting the fact Moroe had failed to apologise to the players.

The players and their performances in the ongoing Mzansi Super League have been overshadowed by the CSA's off-field issues.

Meanwhile, CSA's planned Tuesday's media briefing was postponed at the last minute until Saturday at 15:00.

The postponement statement made mention that there would be a board meeting on Saturday at which "important decisions will be made".

The statement went on to confirm that the press conference which will follow the board meeting "will be an opportunity for an open dialogue around key issues affecting the local cricket fraternity". 

Here's Moroe's full statement below:

2019 has been a challenging year for Cricket South Africa. As CEO of CSA, it is my responsibility to articulate solutions for the way forward and to take you, our stakeholders, into my confidence, in order to rebuild trust in brand Cricket South Africa. To this end, I address this to the Board of CSA, our Members, our Partners and Sponsors, SANEF, and the many journalists, and the Fans of the incredible sport of cricket.

I unreservedly apologise on behalf of Cricket South Africa for the erroneous process that led to journalists having accreditation revoked. I am proud to live in a free and fair South Africa where each and every one of us has the ability to compliment and criticise any organisation, including my own for my and/or my team's efforts. Too many people have made the ultimate sacrifice for the privilege of free speech and I'd like to apologise to SANEF and all of your members for any harm that was caused during our accreditation error in judgement.

We encourage transparent reporting of the highs and lows of Cricket South Africa and every South African institution - public or private.

I would also like to apologise to our sponsors for the ambiguity of the CSA tweet yesterday where we thanked our sponsors for their support - it wasn't our intention for that tweet to infer support for the accreditation blunder but instead to thank them for our longstanding partnerships - so Standard Bank, Momentum, KFC, Sunfoil, New Balance, Castle Lager, Ram, Coca-Cola, Powerade, and our numerous supplier partners - my apologies to you.

It is understandable that my job as CEO is always under the microscope. It's not just for ethical reasons but for my love of cricket that I adhere to due process, especially during uncomfortable moments. This is evident with the ways in which we are working through a formal process in terms of our recent suspensions, and there seems to be consternation about the appointment of our new Director of Cricket role.

What has become apparent and a learning point for us as an organisation, is the absolute need for more dialogue with our stakeholders. To this end, I commit to ensure that the outflow of communications from my organisation is far more frequent and transparent that has happened in the past. We owe this to our Board of CSA, our Members, our Partners and Sponsors, SANEF, journalists, and the Fans of South African cricket.

As a start to this new transparent relationship, I can advise you that the CSA Board is meeting for a special sitting, this Saturday. This will be immediately followed by a media conference to communicate the outcomes and next steps to South Africa via the media, including but not limited to the Director of Cricket role, team selection processes for the England tour, and all other Cricket South Africa issues relevant to the South African public. 

I look forward to new levels of engagement.

Thank you

T. Moroe

CEO Cricket South Africa

Not one mention of the players in CSA’s apology

— Tony Irish (@TonyIrishZA) December 3, 2019

CSA says is been engaging with key stakeholders. No engagement with us. Clearly it doesn’t consider @SACAplayers and players as key stakeholders.

— Tony Irish (@TonyIrishZA) December 3, 2019