Sharks Rugby Club Wears Black for GBV Solidarity, but Critics Question the Gesture
- The Sharks Rugby Club posted twice on X on Thursday, announcing the Durban franchise would dress in black to show solidarity with GBV victims
- The campaign drew divided reactions, with South African author Darrel Bristow-Bovey publicly questioning whether a wardrobe choice constituted meaningful action
- The Sharks' move came the same week Springbok captain Siya Kolisi shared a video urging South African men to stand up against gender-based violence
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The Sharks Rugby Club took to X on Thursday to announce it would dress in black as a show of solidarity with victims of gender-based violence and femicide in South Africa, prompting both support and pointed criticism online.
The franchise published its first post at 7 am, saying the club was wearing black for women who had lost their lives and for families left behind. The message stressed that women and children experiencing harm "deserve to live without fear," closing with the words,
"We see it. We feel it. We cannot accept it," alongside the hashtags #EndGBV and #EndFemicide. A second post, published at 3:45 pm, reinforced the stance, stating that gender-based violence "continues to devastate families and communities across South Africa" and that the club stood with every woman, child, and grieving family. It ended:
"Enough. Today. Always."
The morning post had accumulated 1,862 views by the time of writing.
Mixed reaction to the campaign
Supporter Henry Rutherford responded to both posts with a black heart emoji. South African author and Sunday Times columnist Darrel Bristow-Bovey offered a sharper take, replying to the morning post:
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"Don't you always wear black? Is this the very definition of 'The least we could do'?"
The comment drew attention to the fact that rugby franchises typically wear dark kit regardless of any campaign, raising the question of whether the gesture carried genuine weight.
As seen in the post below on X.
Sharks join a broader wave of sporting solidarity
The club's campaign arrived in the same week that Springbok captain Siya Kolisi published a video message calling on South African men to stand up against gender-based violence.
It also follows the discovery of at least nine murdered women in the Ekurhuleni area since July, and the South African government's formal classification of gender-based violence and femicide as a national disaster in November 2025.
Gestures such as wearing black or purple have become a recurring feature of South Africa's public response to the GBVF crisis, including through initiatives such as Kolisi's "Purple Friday" campaign.
Critics, among them Bristow-Bovey, represent a strand of opinion questioning whether corporate and sporting bodies translate these visible displays into concrete support for survivors, shelters, or law enforcement, rather than statements that carry little cost to those making them.
Watch the video below on X.
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Source: Briefly News
