Social media is buzzing after the Totalsports shopping group decided to remove a life-size cardboard image of Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth from its stores. Some people now even threaten to boycott the store.
Totalsports announced the news on Monday, saying it was “involved in sports, not controversy”.
The Totalsports store, as well as The Foschini Group , which the sports shop is part of, announced the decision on social media, presumably after buyers noticed Etzebeth no longer stands next to an equally large cardboard image of Siya Kolisi.
“The woman told me they were instructed to remove it from the floor,” the entry reads.
The user then makes the statement that Totalsports has already decided Etzebeth is guilty, without a trial. The person refuses to support a Totalsports or any affiliate store again.
Etzebeth, his cousin Emile and other persons are linked to an incident in Langebaan in the Western Cape where they allegedly assaulted two men and also allegedly made racist remarks to them.
A complaint of hate speech, as well as criminal charges against Etzebeth, stems from this incident.
Etzebeth denies all the allegations against him and is also at war with the South African Human Rights Commission because of his “illegal” actions against him.
Etzebeth is currently still in Japan, where he will play England in the World Cup final on Saturday.
