Why can't the people decide?14 years after the abolition of apartheid, the South African Government has decided that the Springbok emblem represents the horrors of the regime and want to change it.
It has even been compared to the Swastika, but the emblem actually predates apartheid by 42 years, when it was first used for the 1906 tour to England.
A minority want to see the return of the King Protea, ironically used under apartheid, when the national rugby team was reserved exclusively for the "coloureds" that represented the SA Rugby Federation. Now this is all well and good if the players and, far more importantly, the people want it.
Why not ask Francois Pienaar or Chester Williams - guys who would've died for each other in 1995 - if they didn’t feel united by it.
Or try telling JP Pietersen or Bryan Habana or the thousands who filled the streets to greet their heroes back from France that the Bok only represents the white half of the country.
Surely the people who were affected by the regime should have the chance to vote on something of this magnitude? And we’re sure there are growing issues they would prefer to be addressed than an emblem.
It is often said that sport and politics shouldn’t mix. In South Africa, that is unavoidable, but at the very least it should be democratic.