SA u19 captain David Teeger cleared after inquiry
South Africa under-19 cricket captain David Teeger has been cleared of any wrongdoing after an independent inquiry into a statement he made at the Absa Jewish Achiever Awards was protested by the Palestine Solidarity Alliance (PSA), which lodged an official complaint with the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc).
After receiving the Rising Star Award at the event, which took place at the Sandton Convention Centre, Teeger was quoted as saying: “Yes, I’ve been [given] this award, and yes, I’m now the rising star, but the true rising stars are the young soldiers in Israel. And I’d like to dedicate it to the state of Israel and every single soldier fighting, so that we can live and thrive in the diaspora.”
The inquiry was led by renowned Advocate Wim Trengrove SC. In a 44-page determination, he found Teeger had not breached the codes of conduct of either Cricket South Africa or the Central Gauteng Lions.
In the document, he wrote: “Mr Teeger’s comments were certainly not detrimental to the game of cricket in the eyes of his audience. Should he have guarded against the risk that his comments might become public and that others might find them offensive? I think not.
“He was entitled to assume that everybody would understand that his comments were made in a conversation with his fellow Jews. He did not purport to speak on behalf of cricket or cricketers generally.
“Others might find his statements offensive. But they would understand that the constitutional right to freedom of expression requires of us to be tolerant, even of views that we find offensive.”
Teeger is, therefore, cleared to continue his preparations to lead South Africa at the 2024 ICC under-19 Cricket World Cup, which will be hosted in South Africa from 13 January to 4 February.
In June, he captained SA u19 on a tour of Bangladesh, where he finished as the top run scorer in the five-match ODI series, which the hosts claimed by a 3-2 margin.
The King Edward VII Head Boy also skippered the SA Emerging Team to the CSA Provincial One-Day Challenge Division Two title in October after an emphatic eight-wicket victory over the ITEC Knights in the final. On that occasion, Teeger finished unbeaten on 95 from only 70 balls.
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