David Teeger ‘Rent-A-Crowd’ protest comes under fire [photos]

A protest facilitated by the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJAB) demanding Cricket South Africa (CSA) reinstate David Teeger as U19 captain has been mocked by social media users.

In pictures and clips posted online, members of the Jewish and non-Jewish community staged a peaceful protest outside the sports offices in Melrose, Johannesburg.

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This after Teeger was “relieved” of his captaincy over his 2023 “pro-Israel” comments ahead of the U19 Cricket World Cup, which has officially kicked off.

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SAJAB GO THROUGH WITH CRICKET SA PROTEST

On Thursday, 18 January – one day before the U10 Cricket World Cup officially began – SAJAB led a protest to the CSA offices.

Protestors – which included Jews and non-Jews – carried placards that read: “He’s My Captain,” “Stop Racism in Sport,” and “No Place for Antisemitism”.

According to SAJAB, David Teeger’s demotion was due to “a politically motivated and blatantly discriminatory decision on the part of CSA.

The organisation has claimed that in a meeting earlier this week, CSA “failed to provide credible evidence that there had been any real security threats to the upcoming Under19 World Cup tournament on account of David Teeger being captain of the SA team”.

They also demanded that Teeger e reinstated as captain and are threatening legal action should CSA and the International Cricket Council (ICC) fail to do so.

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Meanwhile, The ICC said it would not intervene in the matter. “Team selection, including captaincy, is an issue for members and not the ICC,” a spokesperson said. “An international federation is not constituted to intervene in team selections.”

‘DO THEY EVEN KNOW DAVID TEEGER?’

Meanwhile, social media users have lambasted images from the protests. Many have suggested that protestors were “paid” to get involved in the public stance.

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@BonganiMK_: “I’m willing to bet they don’t even know who David Teeger is. This is a sponsored protest.”

@IvynSambo: “Rent-A-Crowd for an U/19 player is ridiculous business”

@PMac_thepimp: “Now folks, this here is what is called a rented crowd! Paid with a Streetwise 2 and R200.”