Dean Jones is one of those many former Australian cricketers who now earns big bucks as a commentator on the sport. Like many others, he has little of import to say, but takes up 700 or 800 words to do so.<\/p>\n
Jones was sacked<\/strong><\/a> by Ten Sports in 2006 for making a racist comment about South Africa’s Hashim Amla. But he has slowly crept back, with the Melbourne newspaper The Age<\/em> helping in his rehabilitation by giving him a weekly column.<\/p>\n One would think that a man who goes around referring to Muslim players as terrorists would be shunned by publications that claim to have standards. Jones most recent column<\/strong><\/a> is typical; he meanders all over the place. It looks like the whole piece is suffering from multiple attacks of schizophrenia. But he fills the space and The Age<\/em> also gets a “name” to write. That he has nothing of any value to say does not seem to strike the owners of The Age<\/em>, Fairfax Media. Perhaps this is one reason why The Age is rapidly going downhill.<\/p>\n Back in 2006, Jones was heard live<\/strong><\/a> on air calling South Africa’s Hashim Amla, one of the better batsmen in the world, a terrorist, during a Test between Sri Lanka and South Africa in Colombo. Amla took a catch to dismiss Kumar Sangakkara only to provoke this comment from Jones: “The terrorist has got another wicket.” <\/p>\n Jones was sacked by Ten Sports. But he has wheedled his way back.<\/p>\n This kind of racial vilification by Australian cricketers is not unusual. Darren Lehmann, now the coach of the national team, called<\/strong><\/a> the Sri Lankan team “Cunts, cunts, fucking black cunts,” when he was run out during a one-day match in Brisbane in 2003.<\/p>\n Exactly what Lehmann thinks of Sri Lankans these days is unknown.<\/p>\n
\n
\nBut racism is part of the Australian national fabric and The Age<\/em> is part of that fabric. Not the overt type of racism, no, the covert type that operates undercover and helps keep white people in positions of authority.<\/p>\n