South Africa's Dane van Niekerk slams Fox Sports for 'fat shamed star' headline

Dane van Niekerk was not selected in the South African squad that reached the final of the T20 World Cup, where they lost to Australia.

Former South African captain Dane van Niekerk was left hurt by an Australian publication, Fox Sports, which labeled the cricketer as "fat shamed star" in their article headline about her potential retirement from international cricket.

The 29-year-old cricketer shared the story  on Twitter and captioned it saying, "Excuse me? Fat shamed? Are u serious?"

Excuse me?? Fat shamed?? Are u serious??https://t.co/ioFw4k1kjB

Story continues below Advertisement

Remove Ad

— Danevn81 (@Danevn811) March 14, 2023

Van Niekerk's wife and former South African teammate Marizanne Kapp also posted a sarcastic tweet, taking a dig at the publication for their headline.

Nice article ⁦@FoxCricket⁩ contributing 100% towards players mental health struggles, good on you! https://t.co/bqPb4vymqX

— Marizanne Kapp (@kappie777) March 14, 2023

“You have to accept that some chapters in our lives have to close without closure. There is no point in losing yourself by trying to fix what’s meant to stay broken," van Niekerk had written on her Instagram post.

She was not selected in the South African squad that reached the final of the T20 World Cup, where they lost to Australia.

van Niekerk is currently part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore setup in the first edition of the Women's Premier League 2023. The publication has removed the story from their website. van Niekerk's wife Kapp is part of the Delhi Capitals setup in the tournament.