Rassie Erasmus says he will continue to trust Eben Etzebeth’s version of events until it is proven differently following a complaint being laid at the Human Rights Commission
A social media storm erupted on Sunday suggesting that Etzebeth had been involved in an ‘assault’ that allegedly had racial connotations.
The Bok lock and player welfare manager Eugene Henning met with the Human Rights Commission (HRC) on Thursday, and Rassie Erasmus also addressed the subject at a farewell press conference before the team headed to the World Cup.
‘The update that I can give, which I have only heard this morning, is that there was a complaint at the Human Rights Commission,’ Erasmus said. Eben and Eugene are there this afternoon in discussion with the Human Rights Commission on exactly what the claim is. We have not heard anything from police, we have just heard that there is a complaint at the Human Rights Commission.
‘I don’t have any further update because it is happening as we speak.’
Erasmus said that he will continue to believe the version of events he was told by Etzebeth until it gets proven wrong.
‘From my side, there is a player-coach relationship and trust between a player and a coach. When something like that happens. There is a lot that is said on social media, not just about Eben but about a lot of players which we have to handle daily. A lot of things get said and emails get thrown to us about a lot of players, which sometimes we ignore because sometimes it is just nonsense.
‘Obviously this specific one has become a real big thing. But as I said on Monday in the release, I have to believe what a player tells me because we have a relationship. Until something else gets proven, only then can we act.’
Photo: Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images
