Herschelle Gibbs' father Herman on Monday said that his son is not a racist after he was banned for two Tests for making a derogatory comment about a section of Pakistani fans during the first Test match in Centurion.
Gibbs will miss the second and third Tests against Pakistan and still has to attend a Cricket South Africa disciplinary hearing.
During the fourth day of the first Test between South Africa and Pakistan on Sunday, Gibbs was heard referring to some Pakistani fans as "animals" over the stump microphone, but his father says it was an emotional reaction after he received a great deal of abuse himself from those supporters.
"Herschelle has never been racist in his life," Herman Gibbs told bigstarcricket.com. "Both of my kids grew up in a mixed school at a time when other kids the same age attended segregated schools.
"The ICC has failed us," he added. "Stump microphones are meant to help the umpires make decisions, not to inform the TV viewers of what the players are saying. What has not come out yet is just how much abuse Herschelle was exposed to. He copped quite a lot when he was fielding near to the third man boundary. He hasn't told me what they called him but I will speak to him later.
"They were obviously trying to unnerve and unsettle the South African players but it didn't work as their team were beaten by seven wickets. It's not even as though Herschelle retaliated and directly abused the fans. He just happened to say something when he was with his team-mates in the middle of the pitch.
"It was very strange that the ICC only charged him when someone heard the comment on television and decided to complain. The Pakistani batsmen did not hear anything and did not complain," Herman said.
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