By NAN SPORTS EDITOR
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. June 12, 2020: Will the West Indies take a knee for George Floyd and racism when they open their match against England at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton from July 8-12th?
That’s the big question but Skipper Jason Holder deftly deflected the question this week at the team’s first Zoom presser, instead insisting that he could not speak on behalf of his team-mates until they had decided as a squad how to respond.
“As a group we have to sit down and have our discussions,” Holder said. “I don’t want to speak out of context or on behalf of other players. We have different races within our group too. It is a sensitive time where we’ve got to be mindful of everything.”
But he added: “Who knows, this could be something serious we could build on and we could get some real positive energy through the group. Only after we sit down and discuss and get a common sense of where everybody’s mind is at, will we then formulate our plans.
His comments come as at least three West Indies stars have spoken out about facing racism. All-rounder Dwayne Bravo as well as Darren Sammy and Chris Gayle have so far openly talked about racism they have faced in their careers.
While using hard-hitting words against racial comments around the world, Bravo said he would never ask for revenge but now ‘enough is enough’ and times has come they black people demand ‘equality and respect.’
Two-time T20 World Cup-winning Windies captain Darren Sammy alleged that a racist nickname was used to address him during his IPL stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad and demanded an apology.
Sammy said he was called ‘Kalu’ while he was in India, which is a derogatory word to describe black people.
“I have travelled the globe and experience racial remarks towards me because I am black, believe me, the list goes on,” Chris Gayle on Instagram. “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.”
Soccer players globally have paid tribute on and off the field to the BLM movement as MLS announced on Wednesday it would support players who choose to use the national anthem played before games to peacefully protest police brutality and systemic racism against the Black community.
