Wellington Lions captain and Hurricanes player Du’Plessis Kirifi has weighed in on the debate over Hurricanes board member Troy Bowker’s comments about Māori.
Bowker says he stands by accusing Sir Ian Taylor of “sucking up to the left Māori-loving agenda” after the animation entrepreneur posted a picture saying NZ’s Olympic success on the water was in their DNA.
Taylor wrote a post on LinkedIn a week ago commenting on National leader Judith Collins’ suggestion to have a referendum on the name of the country.
“This could be a wonderful message for Judith and her friends who want a referendum on the name Aotearoa,” Taylor wrote.
“If we are going to have a debate about naming rights let's do it fully informed about the amazing feat of the Pacific Voyagers who named the whenua where they settled.”
Taylor’s post was accompanied with an image of a Captain Cook-era ship and a Māori canoe with a caption asking:
"How come NZ excels on the water in yachting rowing, kayaking etc?”
“Answer: Our ancestral DNA,” was written by the picture of the Māori canoe.
Bowker slammed the post in a reply.
“What a load of absolute nonsense! Another example of European NZers not being proud of their own ancestors and sucking up to the left Māori loving agenda. FFS. Wake up NZ,” he wrote.
Bowker and Taylor continued the exchange in the comments with the Hurricanes part-owner at one point asking the animation entrepreneur: “what percentage Maori are you?”
“Please show some pride and respect for the achievements of your own ancestors like the Maori do. Worshipping Maori like you are doing is disrespectful to your other ancestors,” he continued.
The conversation spiralled downwards and soon afterwards, All Blacks and Hurricanes halfback TJ Perenara labelled Bowker’s comments “with their underlying racism,” insulting.
Troy Bowker, a shareholder of the Super Rugby franchise, is facing pressure to step away after comments deemed racist.
Today, Kirifi told 1 NEWS he also stood against the comments he believed were “small-minded”.
“Obviously I'm a young Pasifika man, part of a proud Hurricanes franchise which represents so many different beautiful ethnicities. So I disagree first of all with what he had to say, and I distance myself from those comments.
“I respect his ability to have his own opinion, but just because I like cookies and cream ice cream doesn't mean I need to let the world know. So the only thing he's done by letting everyone know how he feels about that is just show how small-minded he is. That's all it is.
“My stance is zero tolerance on racism. That's just me as a player. I'm sure they're putting in things in place for them to deal with it properly. But like I say I respect his ability to have his own opinion, that's what makes it beautiful is we're all allowed to think what we want to think, but just because we think something doesn't mean we have to let the world know,” Kirifi said.
He said he shared Perenara’s view.
“Naturally TJ takes a lead on things like this. To some these are quite sticky situations, to him he's pretty clear-cut on where he stands. So he just let us know his position, and he respects how the rest of us feel, and where he was going to go from that.
“I support him and what he's had to say. I think he's right, we're all part of a club that's made up of so many different ethnicities and cultures. And we're equally proud of every single one of them. So we just hope everyone walks through that door and feels the same way.”
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