Hansie: have we forgiven him?

Next week, we will see the premiere of the Hansie Cronje movie and already, the nation is once again divided on the late Proteas’ skipper.

Before it is even screened in South Africa, the movie has been met with mixed emotions with sceptics suggesting that the movie is nothing but an attempt to recreate the “legacy” of the fallen hero – Hansie.

Others, however, have protested feverishly that the late Proteas’ captain should be allowed to “rest in peace” and we should bury the hatchet.

Those loyal to Cronje refuse to accept the cold facts about the fallen captain – they refuse to believe that Hansie was corrupt and that the former skipper betrayed our trust, our emotions and everything we stand for as a nation.

In mitigation, yes, he was en route to rehabilitate his image when he died. Yes, he was trying to make up for his mistakes.

I’m not about to open the “lets hate Hansie forum’, but I understand when former players insist that they find it hard to forgive Hansie for what he did.

We loved Hansie so much that even when the Indians raised suspicions about our “cappy” we turned a blind eye to their allegations and stood firmly behind Hansie. Upon the allegations, Hansie stood in front of the cameras, told the nation that he was clean and that this was a smear campaign by some bitter individuals who were out to get him.

He said this to Ali Bacher, then the most powerful individual in SA cricket, and then later to the minister of sport at the time, Ngconde Balfour, both of whom came out in defence of Hansie and denounced anyone who dared link the blue-eyed boy of South African cricket to corruption.

Of course, at that time they didn’t know that Hansie had sold us out for some thousand dollars and a leather jacket.

We all believed Hansie; we all fell for his lies. And then, came the big fall.

Hansie’s confession, which was later leaked to the media, was faxed to Bacher who retaliated with unkind words and openly denounced Hansie.

All of a sudden, the nation was stunned. Newspapers were having a day. “How can you Hansie?” screamed one of the leading newspapers in the country: “Hansie: the nation betrayed” said another: “The captain betrayed by love of money” – said yet another.

Then in the midst of this came the famous (mis)quote “the devil made me do it” that was widely attributed to Hansie. (His brother Frans later set the record straight, claiming Hansie had actually said “I took my eyes off Jesus.”)

The problem with Hansie, I maintain, is that when he told the “truth”, he did so in sketchy instalments – he told the truth only when he knew that his cover was blown.
His “unfortunate” love of money let him down terribly and he paid the price.

What can we learn from Hansie’s mistakes? Are there any lessons for South African cricket? Will the nation ever forgive Hansie? And, will those who never saw anything wrong with Hansie admit that their hero sold us out?