Remember Apartheid S.Africa’s greatest Sportsman? Gary Player – Approved of Apartheid and later changed…

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[Gary Player was a huge name in golf for decades. He was a great champion. During the 1960s under Verwoerd he was very much pro-Apartheid, but like everyone else, much later he chickened out. Jan]

This is what he said about Apartheid initially:

In 1966, Player espoused support for the apartheid policies of Hendrik Verwoerd in his book Grand Slam Golf, stating: "I must say now, and clearly, that I am of the South Africa of Verwoerd and apartheid … a nation which … is the product of its instinct and ability to maintain civilised values and standards amongst the alien barbarians. The African may well believe in witchcraft and primitive magic, practise ritual murder and polygamy; his wealth is in cattle".[38] Activists publicly demonstrated against Player’s espousal of apartheid, including protesting against Player at the 1969 PGA Championship. Australian activists also strongly protested against Player. In 1971 there were several threats to protest against Player at tournaments though they never came to fruition.[39] Years later, in October 1974, Australian activists screamed at Player, "Go home racist", as he was lining up a putt on the 72nd hole in a tournament he had a chance to win.[40]

Then by 1987 when White South Africans began to give in and were moving away from Apartheid, he said this:
However, in a 1987 interview with The Los Angeles Times, Player disavowed the system of apartheid, stating, "We have a terrible system in apartheid…it’s almost a cancerous disease. I’m happy to say it’s being eliminated….we’ve got to get rid of this apartheid."[41] In an interview with Graham Bensinger, Player discussed his early support for apartheid stating that the South African Government had "pulled the wool over our eyes" and that the people were "brainwashed" into supporting these policies.[42]

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Player