Former Bafana Bafana player Mark Fish has felt the wrath of tweeps after one of his tweets went down in flames on Wednesday
The SA soccer player evoked a strong reaction on Twitter after he posted: “If you stand for nothing, you will fall for everything….All Lives Matter”.
It was the latter – a direct snub of the Black Lives Matter movement – which caught Black Twitter’s attention and saw him top the trends list.
#MarkFishMustFall also trended among tweeps who called for the national icon to be publicly shamed.
If you stand for nothing you will fall for everything….All Lives matter👊
— Mark Fish (@markfish74) July 22, 2020
Following the backlash, Mark posted more tweets defending his actions, and insisting he was “not a racist”
“Sorry to offend many people…I certainly am not a racist but I am a firm believer in all people matter so all lives matter,”, followed by; “I see my inbox of a lot of hate but always know…all lives matter …know matter where we come from!”
Sorry to offend many people…I certainly am not a racist but I am a firm believer in all people matter so all lives matter…no matter our past…focus on today and the future….if you don’t stand for something you will always fall for everything…have a fantastic evening !!
— Mark Fish (@markfish74) July 22, 2020
I see my inbox of a lot of hate but alway know…all lives matter …know matter where we come from!
— Mark Fish (@markfish74) July 22, 2020
Take a look at how tweeps reacted to the controversial tweet:
Mark Fish of all people? The same one who was embraced by Black teammates & fans? I really would have thought he’d be first to support BLM, I’m shook actually. I’m now annoyed that I would also shout fiiiiiiiish when he touched the ball ⚽️🤭 https://t.co/oR8EytKnTv
— Flo Letoaba – Duchess of Diepkloof (@Flo_Letoaba) July 22, 2020
Now the Black Man shall really see that he is truly on his own. You can’t expect people who benefit from the problem to provide you with the solution..the likes of Mark Fish stand with us only when it benefits them then discard us afterwards. We need black unity pic.twitter.com/y7Qn3wYgmZ
— Vicky Steamboat (@VickySteamboat) July 22, 2020
Don’t ask questions just shoot #MarkFishMustfall , ngithi makawe u Mark Fish!! Or kanjan? pic.twitter.com/l26sJiqCiz
— Kamo Marven (@AkeMarven) July 22, 2020
So Mark Fish doesn’t understand there’s a difference between systematic killings that black lives go through and crime that all South Africans (white farmers are South Africans) including legends like Lucky Dube go through pic.twitter.com/2JympqtX7G
— Lucky (@SbiyaLucky) July 22, 2020
Mark Fish has been divorced 19 times. That man has a lot on his mind, a black man’s life is the least of his white problems.
— soso (@JavierSOSO_) July 22, 2020
All Lives will only matter once black lives matter… Since they don’t, we’ll keep saying Black Lives Matter.
You’re such a disappointment Mark. I rooted for you
— Womandla ✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿 (@Womxndla) July 22, 2020
A number of high profile stars have also responded;
Mark Fish is a fucking idiot!!!! What a dumb ass!!! Why would he even tweet that? All the time he spent with black people at camp, all this information on the internet and nothing learnt? Wow my dude!!!! Im utterly disappointed cause i was a big fan.
— R.M Phoolo (@casspernyovest) July 22, 2020
Mark Fish’s denial of the legitimacy of Black Lives Matter reflects the failure of the rainbow nation ideology his sportsmanship in Bafana Bafana represented. It tells you that within rainbowism is a denial of the black condition, false equality & fake unity!
— Mbuyiseni Ndlozi (@MbuyiseniNdlozi) July 22, 2020
👇🏾👇🏾👀 https://t.co/S22rqfGCiH
— robertmarawa (@robertmarawa) July 22, 2020
