After the exposure last week of contracts asking athletes to `rig’ races, attempts were made this week to replace a signed contract with a `clean’ one, writes Julian Drew
THE scandal over the “rigging” of races by Athletics South Africa (ASA) escalated this week with allegations that the country’s athletics chief, Bernard Rose, attempted to destroy evidence supporting the charges.
The latest development in the controversy came as the Mail & Guardian obtained a copy of a second “rigging” contract drawn up by ASA – this time signed by Rose, as chief executive officer of the federation, in front of witnesses.
Rose allegedly attempted to have the second contract destroyed before it reached the M&G and replace it with a “clean” version.
Last week this newspaper startled the sports world by disclosing that ASA had tried to get the Olympic silver medalist, Hezekiel Sepeng, to sign a contract which included, among other things, an undertaking that he would not attempt to break the South African record except at meetings sponsored by Engen.
Rose and other athletics officials denied there was such a contract – insisting it was a “discussion document” and offering as “proof” of this the fact that it was not signed. The M&G was accused, by supporters of Rose, of conducting a vendetta against ASA.
The second contract obtained by the M&G was between ASA and Sepeng’s chief 800m rival in South Africa, Marius van Heerden. It is almost identical to the Sepeng document – including a clause requiring Van Heerden not to attack the South African record except at specified meetings.
The Van Heerden contract also includes a handwritten amendment – seemingly in Rose’s handwriting – specifying that “ASA hereby undertakes to sign similar agreements with Hezekiel Sepeng and Johan Botha”, the third South African 800m runner who took part in the Atlanta Olympics. The amendment added: “Should Sepeng and Botha not sign with ASA, then this agreement will be terminated.”
The contract was signed in Cape Town on April 20 1996 by Van Heerden, Rose, a Chris Botes – who is described in the document as “meeting director” – and an unidentified witness. They have also countersigned the amendment.
The document was given to the M&G this week by Van Heerden’s coach, Tommy Tesnar, who said he was determined the truth should come out “for the good of the sport”.
Tesnar said he had received two calls this week from Rose, urging him to destroy his copy of the original Van Heerden contract and promising to send a new version.
Tesnar said a revised contract -excluding the contentious clauses in the original – was faxed to him by Rose on Wednesday this week. The imprint on the top of the fax gave the date as April 22. Tesnar receives his faxes via the offices of a Stellenbosch company which keeps an independent record of the date when documents are received on their machine. This record confirms that Rose faxed the contract this week and not in April.
“Bernard Rose told me today [Wednesday] that there are only two [of the original] contracts in existence, his and mine, and if it comes out in the press he will know where it has come from,” said Tesnar.
Recalling the circumstances in which the original contract was signed, Tesnar said he and Van Heerden were approached by ASA one week after Van Heerden had smashed the 25- year-old South African 800m record, on the first day of the SA Championships in Cape Town. “It was a Friday afternoon about 14:00 hours and they gave a copy of the contract to myself and Marius and explained it to us. They said they wanted it signed before we went home that evening, but I said I wanted to take it home and think about it,” he said.
“It was that night that I wrote the extra clause I wanted put in the contract [requiring the joint agreement of Sepeng and Botha]. The next day we went to see them and there was myself, Marius, Chris Botes, Bernard Rose and Riaan Esterhuizen [manager of the Bellville Athletics Club to which Van Heerden belongs] present. They asked me what I thought about it and I told them and Bernard said no problem and took out his pen and wrote it [the amendment] on our contract and we all signed it. I thought it was a bit strange, but I told Marius let’s sign it and see what happens,” recalled Tesnar.
Afterwards Tesnar began to worry whether he had done the right thing and consulted others in the athletic fraternity in Stellenbosch, where he lives. “Everybody said it was ridiculous and ASA couldn’t do that,” said Tesnar.
The Maties club were particularly upset because they realised the contract would rule out top class 800m races at their meetings.