Sammy demands apology from SunRisers Hyderabad teammates
Image : Collected
|| Desk Report ||
Two-time World Cup-winning West Indies skipper Darren Sammy demanded an apology from his SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) teammates for their racist acts during his Indian Premier League (IPL) stint.
Sammy released a video in his social media account, alleging racism within the SunRisers Hyderabad camp, a franchise team of the biggest Twenty20 franchise event IPL.
The Saint Lucian cricketer got furious after learning the meaning of the word “Kala”, “Kalu”, Kaluu”, which his SRH teammate used to call him coupled with Sri Lankan all-rounder Thisara Perera. Before moving to Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL 2016, Sammy played a part for one-time IPL winners SRH and even captained the side for a brief period.
Even though the former West Indies skipper did not specify any of the players of the SRH, who slurred at him, he said through his video that he will message all those who called him that word.
Amid the furore, Ishant Sharma’s Instagram post from 2014 has resurfaced where he mentioned Sammy as ‘kaluu’ in his caption.
“I’ve played all over the world and I’ve been loved by many people, I’ve embraced all dressing rooms where I’ve played, so I was listening to Hasan Minhaj as to how some of the people in his culture describe black people,” Darren Sammy said.
“This doesn’t apply to all people, so after I found out a meaning of a certain word, I had said I was angry on finding out the meaning and it was degrading, instantly I remembered when I played for SunRisers Hyderabad, I was being called exactly the same word which is degrading to us black people,” he said in a video posted on his Instagram account.
Sammy said that he wasn’t aware of the meaning of the word when he was called upon, and he also said that when his teammates called him with that name the others used to laugh every time.
“I’ll be messaging those people, you guys know who you are, I must admit at that time when I was being called as that word I thought the word meant strong stallion or whatever it is, I didn’t know what it meant, every time I was called with that word, there was laughter at that moment, I thought teammates are laughing so it must be something funny,” Sammy said.
“As of now, I realise it was degrading, I’ll be texting you guys and I’ll ask you as to when you called me with that name, did you all mean it in any bad way or form? I’ve had great memories in all my dressing rooms, so all those who used to call me with that word, think about it, let’s have a conversation, if it was in a bad way then I would be really disappointed,” he added.
Darren Sammy has been an active vocal supporter of the protest that is ongoing in the United States of America over the death of an African-American man named George Floyd.
The former Windies skipper had also made an appeal to the ICC and other cricket boards to support the fight against racism and social injustice. Even he demanded a message from the ICC against racism.
