TJ Perenara calls out Hurricanes board member's 'racism' comments
All Blacks star TJ Perenara has labelled a Hurricanes board member’s comments “sucking up to Maori” comments as “insulting” and said he would be “seeking answers”.
Hurricanes board member Troy Bowker last week accused animation entrepreneur Sir Ian Taylor of “sucking up to the left Maori? loving agenda” while commenting on a LinkedIn post made by Taylor in response to National Party leader Judith Collins’ backing for a referendum on the use of the name Aotearoa for New Zealand.
Bowker, executive chairman of Wellington-based investment company Caniwi Capital, called the post “absolute nonsense” as he labelled Taylor, who is of Maori heritage, as a European New Zealander who is “not proud of their own ancestors”.
“What a load of absolute nonsense,” Bowker’s comment reads. “Another example of European NZers not being proud of their own ancestors and sucking up t0 the left Maori loving agenda. FFS. Wake up NZ.”
Perenara, a Hurricanes centurion and former captain of the franchise, called Bowker’s comments out on Wednesday as he took to Twitter to call for answers.
“Troy Bowker’s comments with their underlying racism are insulting. I’ve begun conversations with other players and management, and expect these conversations to continue over the coming days,” Perenara wrote.
“As with other franchises, Hurricanes players past and present have come from a range of different backgrounds. Our collective identities have long provided us with a source of strength and pride.
“The mental, emotional, and cultural safety of our players is crucial and needs to be assured. Our supporters deserve better and should be able to back us without feeling conflicted.
“Right now I can’t see how these things can happen if the status quo is maintained, and am seeking answers as to what the next steps are. Tungia te ururua kia tupu, whakaritorito te tupu o te harakeke. Mauri ora.”
The Hurricanes chairman Iain Potter, meanwhile, said while the franchise does not support Bowker’s comments, it cannot control his opinions as the board member was not an employee of the club.
“As a part owner of the Hurricanes, Troy is entitled to a director’s role and consequently, we are not in a position to control his opinions when he speaks and represents himself or his businesses outside of rugby. The Hurricanes do not support the remarks in question,” Potter said.
Taylor’s post on LinkedIn linked to a Tom Scott cartoon with the words: “How come NZ excels on the water in yachting, rowing, kayaking etc? Answer: Our ancestral DNA!”
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Taylor, whose firm Animation Research Limited is famous for its America’s Cup and global sports graphics, said it could be a “wonderful message for Judith and her friends who want a referendum on the name Aotearoa”.
“Our Polynesian ancestors set out across the Pacific Ocean, Te Moana Nui a Kiwa, at the same time that the Egyptians were building the pyramids, and arrived here to a place they called the Land of the Long White Cloud (that’s Aotearoa Judith) 600 years before a Dutchman sailed by, without bothering to stop, claiming this already inhabited land as his by simply adding the word “New” to the place he called home .. ‘Zeeland’,” Taylor said.
“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.”
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
2 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments