West Indies cricketers’ tours of apartheid South Africa in the 1980s triggered outrage and raised difficult questions about whether life-changing money could justify breaking one of sport’s biggest boycotts.
The controversial visits brought the conflict between financial opportunity and moral opposition into sharp focus, with some West Indies players choosing to tour despite the condemnation surrounding apartheid South Africa.
The tours remain a story of money, morals and consequences. Their decisions continue to prompt debate over the personal and wider costs of crossing a sporting boycott for substantial financial rewards.
Samantha Johnson examines the motivations behind the rebel tours and the repercussions faced by those involved.
