When Caster Semenya arrived at OR Tambo airport last week, to a throng of well-wishers and supporters, it became abundantly clear that the South African athlete — currently under a contentious gender investigation — was no longer just an athletics sensation… she was a political pawn.

We shouldn't be surprised really. Sport has always walked that tightrope, particularly in South Africa, where politicians grab any opportunity to jump on the back of public opinion to boost their own agendas.

Former Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool did it with Luke Watson, albeit a little late, because by the time Rasool was claiming Watson as a 'non-white player', popular opinion regarding Watson was no longer all that… erm, popular.

Minister of Sports and Recreation Makhenkhesi Stofile has used the Springboks as his own private politicking platform, playing the transformation trump card every time there is a problem in his administration.

And it is no coincidence, after SA's worst-ever performance at the Olympic Games, that Sports Portfolio Committee Chairperson, Butana Komphela, re-ignited the debate over the Springbok emblem at a National Sports Indaba, thus taking the spotlight off the failures of Sascoc and his own committee in regard to South African sporting achievements, or lack thereof.

However every politician under the sun jumped on the bandwagon when the Boks returned home triumphant from the 2007 Rugby World Cup. If we had a queen down south you can bet there would have been a couple of OBE's floating around the current squad.

Former finance minister Trevor Manuel — currently head of the National Planning Commission — was vocal of his support of the All Blacks in 1996, but when the Boks won the 2004 Tri-Nations, Manual proudly handed over the trophy and pledged his support.

Semenya is just the latest sports star to be tagged by politicians looking out for themselves. The young Limpopo runner has been placed under very real, and painful, scrutiny during the gender debate and it riles me to see her being used in a political debate on race and sexism. We have become used to Malema's rants and, judging by reader numbers on iafrica.com, most people are beginning to ignore them, but the damage being done to Semenya continues.

She was pulled from the media briefing after her race at the World Championships because of her age, which was a good call in my opinion, only to arrive home to a media maelstrom. In Johannesburg she was marched out on centre stage and then promptly forced to take a back seat as the politicians took over. While celebrating her achievement was certainly something to be praised, it was Malema's claims of racism and sexism that got the most press.

Ultimately the source of the debate has been lost in the resultant rhetoric.

Has Semenya become a pawn in a bigger game or do you think those defending her have only her interests at heart?

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