The issue of sports and politics not mixing had been central to the pro-tour argument. Rugby was rugby, and apartheid was apartheid, and neither of them should have anything to do with each other. However, the Springbok Tour drew attention to the fact that sport and politics are mixed together, and will continue to be mixed until the end of time.
Muldoon was adamant that the New Zealand government was not going to cancel or interfere with the 1981 tour, and indeed it was not cancelled. However, the government was still in control of police forces throughout the duration of the tour, and gave them the authority to use violence on New Zealand citizens. This means that to an extent the government was involved in the tour.
It also works the other way. Critics of the Muldoon administration believe that if he had 'interfered' more with the tour, massive amounts of violence could have been avoided. By cancelling the tour as the 1973 tour had been cancelled, he could have avoided strife in New Zealand society.
This goes to show that sport and politics are mixed, and have to be to achieve justice in society. How much a government is involved with a sport can influence society, as shown by the 1981 tour. It was a wake up call for New Zealand society: and indeed since then the government has become much more involved with sport. It now funds government organisations to fund school sport, national sport, to test for doping and many other things that enable sporting society to be fair. Without the government involvement (or lack of involvement) in the Springbok tour, the government may have been less likely to become involved in sport over the last few decades.
Muldoon was adamant that the New Zealand government was not going to cancel or interfere with the 1981 tour, and indeed it was not cancelled. However, the government was still in control of police forces throughout the duration of the tour, and gave them the authority to use violence on New Zealand citizens. This means that to an extent the government was involved in the tour.
It also works the other way. Critics of the Muldoon administration believe that if he had 'interfered' more with the tour, massive amounts of violence could have been avoided. By cancelling the tour as the 1973 tour had been cancelled, he could have avoided strife in New Zealand society.
This goes to show that sport and politics are mixed, and have to be to achieve justice in society. How much a government is involved with a sport can influence society, as shown by the 1981 tour. It was a wake up call for New Zealand society: and indeed since then the government has become much more involved with sport. It now funds government organisations to fund school sport, national sport, to test for doping and many other things that enable sporting society to be fair. Without the government involvement (or lack of involvement) in the Springbok tour, the government may have been less likely to become involved in sport over the last few decades.