A few years ago there was uproar after one of the country’s most celebrated athletes, Amantle Montsho, was quoted as having publicly declared her support for the ruling party.
There is nothing that stops Amantle from coming public on the political party of her choice. If she wants she could even go further and endorse her choice for any political office.
It is within her rights to do so. What is however important is to understand and appreciate that her rights come with responsibilities.
She should also understand that on account of her accomplishment she has become a national icon.
At least up until she declared her political affiliation, all Batswana had rallied behind her, regardless of their political party affiliation.
Because she did not belong to any political party, she belonged to all Batswana.
She could count on all of Batswana’s support once she took to the track.
We are not sure that is still the case.
Our worry however is that it is very unlikely that in her excitement to endear herself to the ruling party, Amantle was most probably unaware of the potential her move was going to divide the nation, including disappointing some more discerning members within the ruling party who had come to accept her as way above partisan politics.
Partisan politics are by nature deeply divisive, inherently polarizing and infinitely rancorous.
In partisan politics there is “them” and “us.” Invariably, the ultimate goal is to defeat the opponent by finding faults within them and dismantling them on account of those faults.
In many respects sport is the antithesis of politics. Sport is like a national flag or a national anthem. It is a symbol of unity around which we rally and unite.
Which is why across the world, sport heroes and heroines are
The brazen triumphalism with which some members of the ruling party embraced Amantle’s faux pas was as it turned out more unsettling than her mistake itself.
Politicians should be careful not to be too quick to politicize and own those national symbols that unite us as nation.
Once a national symbol is politicized or is identified with one political party, it naturally repels those members of other political parties who are forever contending and contesting against the preferred political party.
If as a nation we are going to ask all of our nationals to identify and belong to a political party, the upshot of it is that we will; become one of the most divided nations on earth.
It certainly would be embarrassing and indeed disappointing for Amantle to see that the next time she takes on track a substantial number of Batswana, do not support her, simply because they have ceased to regard her as a national icon but rather as a political instrument.
Not for the first time we call on the ministry responsible for sports to go a step further in its interaction with sports personalities by educating them just what they mean to the nation, including to younger people.
In an era of internet where these sports personalities are followed around, it is important that they know the extent to which they have surrendered their privacy and thus have to be very careful on the information they post on social networks including about what things they may at face value regard as personal and private.
