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The Universe Boss, the mercurial West Indian batsman Chris Gayle has expressed his solidarity with the ‘Black Lives Matter’ campaign. In stunning confession Gayle has alleged that he faced racist remarks during his career and cricket is not free of the menace.
Gayle did not elaborate when he faced racial remarks but hinted it might have been during his stints at global T20 leagues.
“I have travelled the globe and experienced racial remarks towards me because I am black, believe me, the list goes on,” he posted on instagram on Monday night.
“Racism is not only in football, it’s in cricket too. Even within teams as a black man, I get the end of the stick. Black and powerful. Black and proud,” he said.
✊???✊? pic.twitter.com/kyJP7GxnlK
— Chris Gayle (@henrygayle) June 1, 2020
The big-hitting batsman’s comments came in the backdrop of African-American George Floyd’s death in the USA after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, pressed his knee on the handcuffed man’s neck as he gasped for breath.
The incident has sparked violent protests across the USA.
“Black lives matter just like any other life. Black people matter, p***k all racist people, stop taking black people for fools, even our own black people wise the p***k up and stop bringing down your own!,” Gayle wrote.
Racism in cricket was drew attention most recently last year when England pacer Jofra Archer was abused by a spectator in New Zealand. New Zealand’s top players and the cricket board had offered apologies for the incident to the Englishman.
Meanwhile , West Indies’ World Cup-winning former captain Daren Sammy has urged the ICC and the entire cricketing fraternity to raise their voice against racism or else be ready to be considered “a part of the problem”.
Right now if the cricket world not standing against the injustice against people of color after seeing that last video of that foot down the next of my brother you are also part of the problem.
— Daren Sammy (@darensammy88) June 1, 2020
Sammy is the only captain to have won World T20 twice . He captained West Indies to the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 victory against Sri Lanka, West Indies’ first major trophy for 8 years (having won the ICC Champions trophy against England in 2004). Sammy again captained West Indies to victory in the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 against England in India.
Sammy wrote about the sufferings of blacks across the world in another tweet .
For too long black people have suffered. I’m all the way in St Lucia and I’m frustrated If you see me as a teammate then you see #GeorgeFloyd Can you be part of the change by showing your support. #BlackLivesMatter
— Daren Sammy (@darensammy88) June 2, 2020
