‘Not the time to be silent’: Former West Indies captain Daren Sammy urges cricket fraternity to speak against racism

Former West Indies captain Daren Sammy on Tuesday urged cricket’s global body International Cricket Council (ICC) and other cricket boards across the world to come together and speak out against racism. In a series of tweets, the Windies T20I World Cup-winning captain asked the boards to support the fight against racism which has been ignited in the wake of George Floyd’s killing in the United States.

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“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,” Sammy wrote.  

He then further addressed ICC and cricket boards across the world and said: “@ICC and all the other boards are you guys not seeing what’s happening to ppl like me? Are you not gonna speak against the social injustice against my kind. This is not only about America. This happens everyday #BlackLivesMatter now is not the time to be silent. I wanna hear u.”

Sammy further said: “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.”

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Sammy’s words came a day after his West Indies teammate Chris Gayle confessed that cricket world is also not free of racism and added that he has also faced racism. “I have travelled the globe and experienced racial remarks towards me because I am black, believe me, the list goes on,” Gayle wrote in an Instagram post.

“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 further had said.

Floyd, a black man, died in Minneapolis after a white police officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for several minutes even after Floyd stopped moving and pleading for air. Floyd’s death has sparked days of protests across the US and it has resonated across the sporting world.

(With inputs from AP)