Isaac Makwala receives support, advised to stay away from social media

- Isaac Makwala has received a lot of messages following his performance this past weekend at the World Relay Championships. With some advising him to hang his boots, he responded via a facebook post, to which more messages followed. Here is how it all went:

One thing about me ke gore ga ke ye go kgobiwa marapo ke batho ke sa ba itse personal. So keep peperepepere mo fb but you won't take the Badman down. Ga lo ise lo lemoge gore ka lo palela kante. [ISAAC MAKWALA]

Keep on moving forward and preparing yourself to empower the young ones as a coach. You did us great and avoid responding to social media. Otherwise have a good time. [LETLOLE MOSIELELE]

Focus on what you went there for. Distance yourself from social media and lastly criticism make someone to grow. If someone throws stones to you build a wall with them, don’t throw them back. [OREAGETSE KETSHABILE]

Not all ba ba go nyatsang ba kgona se o se kgonneng kana se o tsweletseng ka go se kgona....keep your head up and ignore idiots. They bark at you but they can't bite you.....stay strong Badman. [GOITSEONE RAMOOKI]

Nnya mme mmotlana go tlogela ina le le ntle le o le dirileng go molemo go na le go gakologelwa ka tse di maswe. But nna I don't blame you but the coach, you have given your best in the past races but go pala. Nna ke batla o thuse go ntsha bo Makwalanyana through giving them a chance and give them the full support [KAGISO MOLEFHI]

Batswana should learn to support their athletes in good and bad times. The Coaches deployed the athletes according to their strengths and a relay is a team sport, you can do well today and tomorrow is different. If I am down today doesn't mean I am not ready to deliver tomorrow. If you have never represented your country at World Level you can't understand [ONKABETSE NKOBOLO]

I am against the bashing of our athletes when they do not perform well on a particular day. Remember in sport, not all the days give the same result. Nijel Amos showed us that several times when he lost one day and won the next. That is how sport is. Even for Isaac Makwala, we can celebrate today when he runs and wins, only to cry when he fails the next day. We should all embrace that and accept as part of the sport. Our athletes too, should learn how to absorb reactions of their followers. They should accept all reactions as natural. They should quietly listen to their supporters and learn from some of the criticism. Arrogance from an athlete can only make things worse for the individual. Athletes should be taught never to respond to social media bashing, no matter how hurting some of the posts or comments may be. It can never end well. This whole Makwala saga should be used in future as a learning tool when athletes are workshopped on all manner of conduct [TUMISANG MOLEFHE]

I stand with Isaac Makwala, most if not all the people who criticize Badman have never represented Botswana in any sport. They don’t know how athletes sacrifice to be where they are. You are allowed to critique but what are you personally giving for personal development and camps. Young athletes learn from this legend. [DRILLER SIBANDA]

We appreciate your service to our nation Nkgonne. You have represented us so well in the last decade. But we can’t beat mother nature. The more we try the more we even ruin a legacy hard earned. Your legacy should be cherished even in generations to come. Sadly, your time on the field e kare e tsamaile Nkgonne. Ha go ne go kgonagala ke ka bo ke go okeletsa ka dingwaga tsame gore o nne o taboge but it’s impossible. You now deserve a seat in some of these athletic boards, a technical coach, a technical consultant and some other beautiful title that comes with a multi million pula cheque. Your service is appreciated our champ. You will always have our respect. You will forever be our icon and legend. You will forever be celebrated. But it’s time you consider hanging your boots. Ya gago tiro o e dirile. Now o toga o itshegisa bomonnao. [SETLHOMO TSHWANELANG]

National team players ga ba ipeke but coaches do! They make selections from the rest and they make the final decision who gets to run/play. Ungrateful people will never win. We are with you Kwala's Isaac 'Badman' Makwala [ARCHIBALD NGAKAYAGAE]

Isaac did a very good job. I can’t personally do what he did. His commitment to raising the flag of Botswana should be appreciated. An athlete of his calibre is an inspiration to some youngsters [BASHIN DITLOGOLO]

We appreciate the legacy you have built over the years to date. Let us leave it this way. Let us not take chances because soon we will be insulting you and we will forget all you built and we will vividly remember how you crushed our hearts and destroyed the dreams of our youngsters. We love you Isaac. [JOJO MOKOWSKI]

You are forever loved champ, but your legs are tired for now you are the weakest link in our 4x4 relay team. I wonder if there is no one to replace you wena wa ba kgothatsa or wa ba ruta how it’s done o le haatshe. [SAMUEL OTUKILE]

Tota nna ke batla credit e fiwa to all athletes. Mme hela ga re tsena mo setlhogong nna ka re Makwala o diretse lefatshe ka botswapelo jaanong a ko a beelwe kwa thoko re tsenye banana le bone ba itshupe. Nako ya gagwe ga e itumedise o ratile go re bolaisa ka batho. Ha bo homeboy ga bo bereke [MANALE ONAH IVY]

Makwala should be advised to stay away from social media, especially during competitions. He is not good at handling criticism. I have seen his posts on social media in the past. I wonder what the BAA, BNOC, BNSC and MYSC are doing about this. He has even been too political for comfort. I congratulate the coach for not picking him for the last race because obviously his focus was totally drowned in what was entailing on social media. Makwala should be a unifier and a mentor. Not rant of facebook and talk about political issues that are beyond his grasp. We love him and want to remember him as one of the legends of our sport, but his utterances should be kept in check. Please protect Makwala from himself. [PATRICK SEGOKGWE]

If it was not for Letsile we could have kissed the race goodbye. Wisdom ya ga Makwala e ka re berekela hela ha a se mo racing. Collen, Anthony, Baboloki ba teng with better times than ya ga Makwala. He was shining ka nako ya gagwe, a re amogeleng gore o berekile, we appreciate his input thata le gone [KUDA MPATANE]

A good dancer knows when to leave the floor, he should retire like Usain Bolt, La Shawn Merritt and Justin Gatlin! A ko a sireletse serodumo and do the honourable thing a retire, rona re tsile go di mmolelela ha a palelwa [GERBY DARLINGTON]