Renewed calls for resignations in gender dispute

JOHANNESBURG — Three South African track associations want the country’s top officials in the sport to resign over the gender dispute involving world 800-meters champion Caster Semenya.

The affiliates of Athletics South Africa — Boland, Eastern Province and Western Province — said Friday in a joint statement that the ASA board and senior management should “take collective responsibility” for the “gender row fiasco and resign with immediate effect.”

Semenya won the 800 at the Berlin world championships in August. Before the final, the International Association of Athletics Federations said it had ordered gender tests.

Last month, ASA president Leonard Chuene admitted he lied about his knowledge of the tests performed on the 18-year-old athlete. However, despite calls for his resignation, he received a vote of confidence at an ASA council meeting soon afterward.

A major bank has since pulled its sponsorship of ASA, and South Africa’s Olympic committee began its inquiry Friday into the track and field body’s handling of the issue.

The three dissenting affiliates expressed concern over allegations of racism made by Chuene against the IAAF. Race is still a sensitive issue in South Africa, where the scars of apartheid are still felt keenly, especially in sport.

“The entire senior structure is standing together and must take collective responsibility, regardless of race or other affiliation,” said the joint statement on the South African Press Association.

“Any attempt by anyone, from whatever political background, to bring race into this matter must be rejected.”

The president of the Boland association is South Africa team doctor Harold Adams. Chuene acknowledged that he declined to take the advice of Adams and withdraw Semenya from the race when questions were being asked about her gender.

Another Boland member, track coach Wilfred Daniels, resigned soon after returning from Berlin over the treatment of Semenya.

The three affiliates have reportedly been unable to voice their criticisms within ASA.

Chuene is a powerful figure in South African sport and has the backing of some ruling politicians. The ruling African National Congress has called for the ASA leadership to be censured, but stopped short of calling for Chuene to be fired.

The three affiliates also have accused the ASA of a “failure of corporate governance,” saying last year’s financial statements have not been made available to members, SAPA reported.

They also expressed concern about the effect of the sporting crisis on the country’s athletes. Local media have reported that there were fierce disagreements at a meeting called by some concerned athletes to discuss the state of the sport.

“The (ASA) board and senior management have not taken responsibility for the events which have occurred, choosing rather to allow the president of ASA to bear that responsibility,” the affiliates said. “It needs to be pointed out that the president of ASA is, in terms of its constitution, a non-executive president and that he alone cannot take all the blame.”