"Of course it isn't true," was among the first things Cricket South Africa's (CSA) media officer told this reporter on April 7, 2000 - the day Hansie Cronje was charged by the Delhi police for his dealings with cricket's gambling underworld.
Of course, all who heard Kyle Abbott profess his commitment to South Africa on December 23 2016 believed him - until January 5 last year, when he confirmed he had signed a Kolpak deal with Hampshire.
Of course, a report in the Mumbai Mirror this week quoting Albert Morkel - father of Albie and Morne - as saying, in essence, that white players were being worked out of the game in South Africa was rubbished.
Anything else would challenge what has become cricket's dominant narrative in this country: that it must be darkened at all costs if it is to have a future of any significance.
That is, of course, true. From junior to test level, cricket needs more black players if it is to survive as part of South Africa's culture and prosper in the international arena.
But keeping those black players in the system, while doing right by everyone else, is made fiendishly difficult by the hard truth that teams are limited to 11 players and by the intense competition for black talent in other sport and business spheres.
A black administrator nailed the dilemma this week: "We can't have players in the national team who are not good enough, which is not fair to anyone - especially those players. And we can't not have black players coming into the national team."..