CAPE TOWN, South Africa — South African sports is embroiled in yet another dispute about politics and race.

The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic committee boycotted a meeting of parliament's sports committee today after a senior lawmaker said it was dominated by "whites and Indians" at the expense of the black majority.

Olympic committee chairman Moss Mashishi — who is black — said the description was "racist, derogatory and utterly repugnant." African National Congress lawmakers were outraged at the no-show.

South African sport is regularly rocked by disputes that too little has been done to promote blacks who were sidelined for years by apartheid. Although national sports like cricket and rugby have made strides toward greater racial equality, many Olympic sports like cycling, swimming and equestrian events are still dominated by white competitors and administrators.

Parliamentary sports committee chairman Butana Komphela said in an interview earlier this month with the Mail and Guardian newspaper that the Olympic committee was "full of whites and Indians who don't understand transformation and lack vision."

Komphela has refused to distance himself from those remarks, which were echoed by several ruling African National Congress members in parliament.

"We are not going to abandon black people who are at the rock bottom," Komphela said. "And I'm not ashamed to say black people in this country are on the receiving end. It is time for us to talk about transformation."

Komphela has a reputation for being outspoken. Last year, he said the government should strip Springbok players of their passports to prevent them from going to France for the rugby World Cup after only two black players were included in the starting lineup. The team went on to win the tournament and one of its black players, winger Bryan Habana, was selected player of the year.

Komphela said lawmakers would seek legal advice on action it could take against the Olympic committee and report back next week.

In a letter read out at Tuesday's meeting, Mashishi said he would take complaints of racism to South Africa's national Human Rights Committee. But the Olympic committee subsequently issued a statement saying Mashishi would meet privately with Komphela in Johannesburg later Tuesday.

The government has so far refused to intervene. Xoliswa Sibeka, director general at the sports ministry, said there were no quick fixes to the inequality and poverty left by apartheid.

Whites, about 10 percent of the population, are still the wealthiest group in South Africa. They attend schools with sports facilities and have access to equipment and training unlike poor black children.

The fencing team at the Olympics includes one black on its six-member squad. But in cycling, long dominated by white South Africans, BMX racer Sifiso Nhlapo is the country's main medal hope.

The 137 Olympic athletes left South Africa last weekend for an acclimatization camp in South Korea, hoping to better the six-medal tally of the Athens Olympics.

Among them was swimmer Nathalie Du Toit, who lost her lower left leg in an accident and made history by qualifying for both the able-bodied games and the Paralympics. Double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius missed out on a spot on the 400-meter squad, but hopes to earn medals at the Paralympics.