It is more than 20 months since
the world was shocked by the shooting of South African model, Reeva Steenkamp
by her boyfriend, Oscar Pistorius, the poster boy of the Paralympics. The trial
began on March 3rd 2014, lasting a total of 49 days spread over
seven months and was the most widely publicised trial of a sportsman since OJ
Simpson almost 20 years ago. The Clog reacted with shock to the shooting in the
Bullet for my Valentine posting in
February 2013 and now reflects on the final conclusion of the sentencing.
Prior to the fateful events of February
2013, Pistorius had been accused of other firearms offences such as firing a
gun through a car sunroof and also firing a Glock in the middle of a crowded restaurant.
These incidents were also considered during the murder trial. As the incidents
were well-known in the international media, surely South African justice
should’ve snapped into action at a much earlier stage. Even if there was insufficient evidence to
secure a criminal conviction, the law enforcement agencies should’ve
recommended intensive anger management courses for Pistorius and his friends
with a warning of jail for future indicretions. For someone with the public
profile of an international athlete to get caught once with a group where a gun
was indiscriminately fired in public, could be considered bad luck, twice looks
like folly bordering on criminal. The country has a gun crime problem and it
can be hoped that a legacy of this case will be root and branch reform of gun
laws in the country.
As an elite athlete Pistorius also
had some blue chip sponsors including Nike, Oakley and Thierry Mugler. It is
not known if the sponsors had a word with the athlete’s management team following
the earlier incidents but as Nike showed a light touch approach during the
Tiger Woods philandering scandal, there would be unlikely to have been much
concern over the earlier gun incidents especially without criminal proceedings.
Sponsors cannot be blamed for
signing up an athlete who had shown great courage and was one of life’s
overcomers, indeed Pistorius could have been considered a marketing
consultant’s dream. It has been known for young, footballers to sometimes have
the odd drunken night out and sponsors will show tolerance for minor
infractions, especially when management have dealt with the matter internally.
This is a sensible approach to take though the earlier incidents associated
with Pistorius demonstrates the need or brands to pay close attention whenever
their sporting ambassadors are mentioned in conjunction with questionable
activities involving firearms.
It would take a brave company to
drop an iconic brand ambassador on the basis of alleged firearms misdemeanours,
especially since there would be concerns over shareholder value and that a
rival company would take them on. It will never be known if a strong threat from
corporate supporters to withdraw sponsorship funding following the earlier
incidents would have been enough to prevent four gunshots through the bathroom
door on that fateful night but may have helped to concentrate the mind.
Sporting sponsorship is a valuable
commodity though maybe it is time for a basic code of ethical conduct to be
drawn up, this could be pioneered by sportswear companies who bankroll many top
sporting stars. This would be difficult to put in place but there would need to
be a commitment by rival companies to not sign up a star who has been dropped
for reasons caused by criminal activity. Even if such a proposal is deemed
far-fetched, the corporate world has a duty of care to both its ambassadors and
society at large, arguably the Pistorius case gives scope to rethink the checks
and balances put in place for sponsorship deals.
The verdict on the long running case
was not delivered until September 12th, with a ruling of culpable
homicide decreed by Judge Masipa, a charge equivalent to manslaughter. This
upset many people who expected a verdict of premeditated murder. The judge
noted that Pistorius had acted unlawfully, but there was insufficient evidence
to prove that he could’ve foreseen that his actions of firing through the door
would have caused the death of the person standing behind it. It was also noted
that he has acted hastily, with excessive force and that his conduct was
negligent. This was an emotionally charged case and the judge’s verdict was the
correct one, though many consider the sentencing of five years is to be very
light. The sentence caught the attention of Twitter users, with one of the key
trends being #things longer than Oscar’s sentence.
Pistorius has a tattoo with a
verse from 1 Corinthians that states:
“Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight
like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my
slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be
disqualified for the prize”
Arguably, the trial proved that
the once great hero of athletics was more like the Babylonian King Belshazzar,
of whom it was said that he was weighed on the scales and found wanting.
The result of Pistorius’
inexplicable moment of uncontrolled madness claimed the life of a beautiful,
successful young woman and in the process, ruined both her family’s life in
addition to his own family. In quieter moments, he will look at the Roman
numerals tattoo on his arm that signify the dates of his late mothers’ life and
realise that his actions have been a disgrace to her memory. The combined
weight of these burdens will live with Pistorius for the rest of his life and this
is far greater than any punishment open to the South African courts.
