There are always two sides to every story, and both need to be listened to before we commit ourselves to either.
The local football fraternity is still in shock over what happened at the Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Monday afternoon.
What was supposed to be a routine Warriors training session in preparation for the Group C World Cup qualifier against Rwanda the following day ended up being a chaotic scene.
Greece-based Warriors striker Tino Kadewere attacked sports journalist Yvone Mangunda, accusing her of targeting him with unfair criticism before and during the international break.
The altercation was so ugly that Kadewere repeatedly threatened to beat up Mangunda and even shoved her, before vice-captain Marshall Munetsi and team manager Clement Matawu stepped in.
Kadewere appeared to have calmed down, before unleashing even more threats at Mangunda again.
The former Le Havre striker was visibly livid and could have done the unthinkable had it not been for the intervention of Matawu.
Granted, what Kadewere did has to be condemned in all shapes and forms, especially considering the time, place and occasion, but what also needs to be looked at with an extensive eye is the root of the problem, which irked the Warriors forward.
Mind you, Kadewere is one of the most decorated Zimbabwean footballers ever, having at some point scored the only goal when Olympique Lyon stunned a star-studded Paris Saint-Germain, which included global superstars like Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, in 2020.
Kadewere is also the only Zimbabwean to ever feature in the Spanish LaLiga, having turned out for Real Mallorca.
The point is, he has played football at the highest level and knows about professionalism and how to media scrutiny.
Kadewere has been in Europe for over a decade and has been on the receiving end of worse media scrutiny, some of which might have possibly had racial undertones.
So, what is it that the media practitioner in question said, that triggered confrontation and subsequent violent reaction from Kadewere?
Gentle reminder: Kadewere did not act in the best of ways, and what he did is highly unacceptable, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he did what he did just for the sake of it.
Screenshots of Facebook posts of the media practitioner in question, somewhat body-shaming Kadewere, do not help the cause either.
“Dai mukomana murefu achigowesa and repay the faith Nees has in him” was one post accompanied by surprise emojis as to why Kadewere was starting against Benin, which she posted and later deleted.
The fact that the post was deleted is proof that she knows that, somehow, she did not act within the confines of journalism ethics.
Look, opinions are like noses, everyone has one and the journalist in question is no exception.
Is it necessary, though, for her to describe Kadewere as ‘mukomana murefu’?
Couldn’t she have simply said, “I don’t think Tino Kadewere deserves to start,” and substantiated with reasons why?
Apart from the derogatory descriptions of Kadewere’s height, only God knows what else was said about the Highfield-bred forward.
