Ollie Robinson apologizes for his shameful racist and sexist tweets / suspended by ECB

[Titan24]

A number of racist and sexist historic messages resurfaced from the Twitter account of England cricket's debutant, Ollie Robinson, while he was starring at Lord's.

The bowler, who made a flying start to life in England's Test team against New Zealand on Wednesday, is now under scrutiny for Tweets shared back in 2012 when he was 18.

One read: 'My new muslim friend is the bomb #wheeyyyyy'. Another went: 'Not going to lie a lot of girls need to learn the art of class.'

He also wrote: 'Females who play video games actually tend to have more sex & be happier with their relationships, than the girls who don't.'

The tweets put both Robinson and the ECB in an uncomfortable position, particularly as the players sent an anti-discrimination message prior to the start of play at Lord's.

They wore black t-shirts designed to show their collective stance against discrimination in what was labelled a 'Moment of Unity'.

On the pitch, the 27-year-old impressed with the first wicket of the summer, bowling Tom Latham, before removing Ross Taylor lbw.

But controversy swirled around him online with a number of fans discussing his tweets from 2012. The ECB have been approached for comment.

When he was 18, Robinson was sacked by Yorkshire and at the time, coach Jason Gillespie said: 'When a player consistently displays behaviour that isn't professional, there has to be a point in time when you say, "Look, this isn't really working, you're obviously not bothered about playing for the club".'

In an interview with Sportsmail last week, the new England debutant said: 'We do expect a lot of our young sportsmen in this country. With cricket and with professional sport, you do miss a lot. You do make a lot of sacrifices that people probably either don't realise or give much thought to.

'At that time at Yorkshire, I was young and a bit naive. I was lucky that I got another chance and got to where I am now, but it can be tough for a lot of youngsters. Especially in the era of social media, you can't put a foot wrong, really.'

Back in 2015, Craig Overton, who is in the squad for this New Zealand series, allegedly told former Sussex batsman Ashar Zaidi to “go back to your own f*****g country” during a county match.

Umpire Alex Wharf and the batsman at the non-striker’s end, Michael Yardy, both said they heard the comment.

He was charged by the ECB for abusive language 'that vilifies another on the basis of race or national origin' and banned for two matches after an accumulation of disciplinary offences. Overton denied making the remark.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/s...ons-historic-racist-sexist-tweets-emerge.html

==


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tom Harrison, ECB CEO regarding Ollie Robinson's tweets "I don't have words to express how disappointed I am that an England Men’s player has chosen to write tweets of this nature, however long ago that might have been" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a> <a href="https://t.co/yt0ZRjX0Ce">pic.twitter.com/yt0ZRjX0Ce</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1400157355208237064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 2, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>






==


Tom Harrison, ECB Chief Executive Officer, said:

"I do not have the words to express how disappointed I am that an England Men’s player has chosen to write tweets of this nature, however long ago that might have been.

Any person reading those words, particularly a woman or person of colour, would take away an image of cricket and cricketers that is completely unacceptable. We are better than this.

We have a zero-tolerance stance to any form of discrimination and there are rules in place that handle conduct of this nature. We will initiate a full investigation as part of our disciplinary process.

Our England Men’s Team, alongside others from the ECB and our partners across the game, worked together today to create a moment of unity. Using today’s spotlight to reaffirm our commitment to driving forward an anti-discrimination agenda. Our commitment to that effort remains unwavering, and the emergence of these comments from Ollie’s past reiterates the need for ongoing education and engagement on this issue."


==

Ollie Robinson Statement:

On the biggest day of my career so far, I am embarrassed by the racist and sexist tweets that I posted over eight years ago, which have today become public. I want to make it clear that I'm not racist and I'm not sexist.

I deeply regret my actions, and I am ashamed of making such remarks.

I was thoughtless and irresponsible, and regardless of my state of mind at the time, my actions were inexcusable. Since that period, I have matured as a person and fully regret the tweets.

Today should be about my efforts on the field and the pride of making my Test debut for England, but my thoughtless behaviour in the past has tarnished this.

Over the past few years, I have worked hard to turn my life around. I have considerably matured as an adult. The work and education I have gained personally from the PCA, my county Sussex and the England Cricket Team have helped me to come to terms and gain a deep understanding of being a responsible professional cricketer.

I would like to unreservedly apologise to anyone I have offended, my teammates and the game as a whole in what has been a day of action and awareness in combatting discrimination from our sport.

I don’t want something that happened eight years ago to diminish the efforts of my teammates and the ECB as they continue to build meaningful action with their comprehensive initiatives and efforts, which I fully endorse and support.

I will continue to educate myself, look for advice and work with the support network that is available to me to learn more about getting better in this area. I am sorry, and I have certainly learned my lesson today.

==

 

[Saj]

Well regarding his historic tweets.

He's currently doing a press conference and is making a statement about them.

 

[IMMY69]

So sky have been showing these BLM cricket shows with Holding etc everyday for the last week or so and then come first day of the first test match of the summer.... bang, a player that made some ill advised remarks on social media gets selected for the first time...

It's comical

 

[MenInG]

Absolutely shameful this from Robinson - has he actually reformed or just saying the right things now?

 

[Saj]

Disgusting.

The guy was 18 at the time, but surely the ECB should have checked the reasons why he was sacked at Yorkshire.

 

[SangasCoverDrive]

Disgusting.

The guy was 18 at the time, but surely the ECB should have checked the reasons why he was sacked at Yorkshire.

Was that the reason he was sacked?

 

[Bewal Express]

Even at 18 people should know better, but everyone deserves a 2nd chance and he should be given a 2nd chance

 

[AMSS]

Didn't the game today start with some ECB gimmick on unity or something? I think this was done to make amends after they refused to take the knee last summer.

And now this. I can see why the ECB boss is apoplectic. Ollie ruined what was meant to be a perfect day with all the media razzmatazz.

Cannot stop laughing.

 

[Saj]

Was that the reason he was sacked?

They weren't going to reveal all the reasons, the club said this:

Director of cricket Moxon declined to give details of those incidents, which the club described only as “a number of unprofessional actions” in a short statement. However, The Yorkshire Post understands they relate to areas such as timekeeping and trust, with the club eventually losing patience with the promising all-rounder.

“I’m not going to go into details of what the actions have been, but what I will say is that it’s been spread over a period of pretty much nine months from the start of training in November through to now,” said Moxon.

 

[James]

Well this is looking like a pretty disastrous selection.

Extremely poor stuff from the player, along with what has clearly been a nonexistent due diligence effort and duty of care taken by the ECB.

Not sure that he can continue in this particular game, particularly with its inclusion / diversity / unity message. It just seems untenable.

It could be the case that — if the New Zealand team & management are generous enough to agree this, and they allow it to be arranged by their England counterparts and the Match Referee — that Ollie Robinson has to be “subbed out” for the remainder of the Test match. An internal investigation and disciplinary action should then follow.

 

[AMSS]

Wasn't aware that the other inductee in ENG squad, Craig Overton, also brings the same pedigree. Also *not* surprised.

Who are the ECB fooling with their gimmicks?

 

[ManFan]

18, I’m sure everybody who read this did something similar or worse at that age.

 

[Markhor]

On the biggest day of my career so far, I am embarrassed by the racist and sexist tweets that I posted over eight years ago, which have today become public. I want to make it clear that I'm not racist and I'm not sexist.

I deeply regret my actions, and I am ashamed of making such remarks.

I was thoughtless and irresponsible, and regardless of my state of mind at the time, my actions were inexcusable. Since that period, I have matured as a person and fully regret the tweets.

Today should be about my efforts on the field and the pride of making my Test debut for England, but my thoughtless behaviour in the past has tarnished this.

Over the past few years, I have worked hard to turn my life around. I have considerably matured as an adult. The work and education I have gained personally from the PCA, my county Sussex and the England Cricket Team have helped me to come to terms and gain a deep understanding of being a responsible professional cricketer.

I would like to unreservedly apologise to anyone I have offended, my teammates and the game as a whole in what has been a day of action and awareness in combatting discrimination from our sport.

I don’t want something that happened eight years ago to diminish the efforts of my teammates and the ECB as they continue to build meaningful action with their comprehensive initiatives and efforts, which I fully endorse and support.

I will continue to educate myself, look for advice and work with the support network that is available to me to learn more about getting better in this area. I am sorry, and I have certainly learned my lesson today.

Good unequivocal statement, that's pretty much all you can ask for. If we ostracised people based on dumb stuff they said at age 18 then we'd be ostracising most of the planet.

The Muslim tweet was more of a eye-rolling attempt at being funny than malicious racism - Craig Overton's quip to Ashar Zaidi is far worse in my opinion.

 

[SangasCoverDrive]

Good unequivocal statement, that's pretty much all you can ask for. If we ostracised people based on dumb stuff they said at age 18 then we'd be ostracising most of the planet.

The Muslim tweet was more of a eye-rolling attempt at being funny than malicious racism - Craig Overton's quip to Ashar Zaidi is far worse in my opinion.

Tbh the thing which Overton said to Ashar is something that even British Pakistanis say to the Pakistanis who have recently immigrated to the country.

 

[sindhiboy]

Craig Overton is also in the current eng test squad. He did something much worse, he racially abused a pakistani origin cricketer and got away with it

These tweets are just poor racist attempts at jokes

If the ecb didn't find a problem with Overton, they definitely shouldn't with Robinson

 

[Bewal Express]

As I said earlier even young people should know better but in the real World they don't and We have to be careful that we don't hound people for the rest of their lives.

 

[Devadwal]

Ollie Robinson has now protected his tweet after the controversy!

 

[SangasCoverDrive]

Ollie Robinson has now protected his tweet after the controversyView attachment 109331!

Another own goal. Why lock your account and not delete the tweets?

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Disgusting stuff. Even at 18 years of age no one should be making these kind of racist, sexist, Islamophobic comments.

Its interesting that Overton's comments to Zaidi were also mentioned in the article. Maybe something [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] should read the next time he accuses Asian county players of calling attention to racism, just to get attention.

 

[SangasCoverDrive]

Disgusting stuff. Even at 18 years of age no one should be making these kind of racist, sexist, Islamophobic comments.

Its interesting that Overton's comments to Zaidi were also mentioned in the article. Maybe something [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] should read the next time he accuses Asian county players of calling attention to racism, just to get attention.

Are you on Twitter? Have you seen the type of tweets people post on that site? It's a no biggie and people who got the time to find such tweet dating 8 years back need to get a life.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Are you on Twitter? Have you seen the type of tweets people post on that site? It's a no biggie and people who got the time to find such tweet dating 8 years back need to get a life.

Oh so just because other people post racist, sexist, Islamophobic stuff makes it alright?

I have been on Twitter since I was 12 years old. Never did I ever post anything disparaging the opposite gender, another race, or another religion. Because even when I was a 12 year old kid I knew that being a racist, sexist, religious bigot makes you a rotten human being.

If he didn't want these tweets coming out he should have been smart enough to delete them. As far as I am concerned he deserves all the attention he is getting and I am all for exposing people who hold these kind of disgusting viewpoints.

 

[Saj]

From the Professional Cricketers’ Association

Following historical tweets from England and Sussex cricketer Ollie Robinson, the Professional Cricketers’ Association reiterates that it does not condone any discriminatory behaviour, and is committed to educating members on all forms of discrimination.

Since these tweets were posted, Ollie has received specific workshops and education to challenge opinions and behaviours surrounding discrimination, and the PCA will continue to offer advice, guidance and support to Ollie.

The PCA’s Personal Development and Welfare Programme has grown and developed in recent years with greater emphasis on educating young players which now starts with regular sessions with academy players.

In addition, in 2020 the PCA formed an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Working Group, which aims to ensure that professional cricketers work in an inclusive environment protected from discrimination, where every player is actively supported and included, and has the knowledge and support necessary to challenge any form of discrimination.

The PCA continues to work closely with the ECB, first-class counties and women’s regional centres to remind its members of the requirements and behaviours demanded of a professional cricketer.

 

[KingKhanWC]

From the Professional Cricketers’ Association

Following historical tweets from England and Sussex cricketer Ollie Robinson, the Professional Cricketers’ Association reiterates that it does not condone any discriminatory behaviour, and is committed to educating members on all forms of discrimination.

Since these tweets were posted, Ollie has received specific workshops and education to challenge opinions and behaviours surrounding discrimination, and the PCA will continue to offer advice, guidance and support to Ollie.

The PCA’s Personal Development and Welfare Programme has grown and developed in recent years with greater emphasis on educating young players which now starts with regular sessions with academy players.

In addition, in 2020 the PCA formed an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Working Group, which aims to ensure that professional cricketers work in an inclusive environment protected from discrimination, where every player is actively supported and included, and has the knowledge and support necessary to challenge any form of discrimination.

The PCA continues to work closely with the ECB, first-class counties and women’s regional centres to remind its members of the requirements and behaviours demanded of a professional cricketer.

So these tweets were well known. I wonder what these workshops consist of? Do they bring in coloured people & women to talk to? Or perhaps they visit a mosque or female beauty shop, or go for a Chinese meal?

Everyone deserves a second chance, he's apologised. Time to move on.

 

[GenericBrand]

What a debut!

 

[DeadlyVenom]

The majority of the posts arent actually too bad, they just seem like poor attempts at humour.

The one he has ended with #racist shows the level of his intelligence though. What kind of ignoramus posts something like that?

 

[Manunited18]

Humans do make mistakes, he's apologised, everyone deserves a second chance just hope this does not ruin his England career.

 

[KingKhanWC]

The majority of the posts arent actually too bad, they just seem like poor attempts at humour.

The one he has ended with #racist shows the level of his intelligence though. What kind of ignoramus posts something like that?

Humans do make mistakes, he's apologised, everyone deserves a second chance just hope this does not ruin his England career.

They are very childish tweets, something a 12 year old would write. He seemed sincerce in his apology, we shouldnt ruin his cricketing care for something in the past.

I hear borderline racist comments from Aussie commies every series when Pak or India are playing them but nobody every complains.

 

[SangasCoverDrive]

Just saw the interview with the Sky. Seemed really emotional and close to tears. The cancel culture warriors need to hold their horses.

 

[the Great Khan]

Well this is looking like a pretty disastrous selection.

Extremely poor stuff from the player, along with what has clearly been a nonexistent due diligence effort and duty of care taken by the ECB.

Not sure that he can continue in this particular game, particularly with its inclusion / diversity / unity message. It just seems untenable.

It could be the case that — if the New Zealand team & management are generous enough to agree this, and they allow it to be arranged by their England counterparts and the Match Referee — that Ollie Robinson has to be “subbed out” for the remainder of the Test match. An internal investigation and disciplinary action should then follow.

what do you mean they didnt do their due diligence? he's white thats enough right??

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Just saw the interview with the Sky. Seemed really emotional and close to tears. The cancel culture warriors need to hold their horses.

I can understand moving on since he has apologized. But am I supposed to feel sympathy for him because he "seemed emotional" and was "close to tears"

Give me a break. He's not an oppressed and persecuted minority I should feel sorry for. He's just another privileged white guy who made stupid comments that he shouldn't have. He has apologized now so you can choose to move on. But don't try to paint him as some kind of oppressed and persecuted person, because he is not.

 

[the Great Khan]

Humans do make mistakes, he's apologised, everyone deserves a second chance just hope this does not ruin his England career.

Racists dont deserve second chances..especially when young black and asian boys and girls have to suffer while these **** get second chances..

 

[Junaids]

Disgusting.

The guy was 18 at the time, but surely the ECB should have checked the reasons why he was sacked at Yorkshire.

This isn’t why he was sacked by Yorkshire. (This kind of behaviour would probably get you promoted to the captaincy there!!!)

He was sacked by Yorkshire due to chronic poor timekeeping as he lived in Kent and partied and endlessly turned up late.

I’m not condoning Robinson’s moronic tweets, but he has not posted any similar material for 8-9 years and I am willing to give Paul Farbrace’s stepson the benefit of the doubt.

What sort of beliefs do people think that semi-educated white men from the heartland of Nigel Farage hold? Why is this a surprise?

 

[Mamoon]

Disgusting stuff. Even at 18 years of age no one should be making these kind of racist, sexist, Islamophobic comments.

Its interesting that Overton's comments to Zaidi were also mentioned in the article. Maybe something [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] should read the next time he accuses Asian county players of calling attention to racism, just to get attention.

There seems to be a direct correlation between how big a failure a British Asian cricketer is (which is basically almost everyone) and how much they are going to complain about racism.

Also, I don't see any reason to have sympathy for discriminated cricketer who himself has not covered himself in glory with his behavior in the past. For example, that Azeem Rafique or whatever his name is, abused the U-19 coach on social media when he dropped him because of poor performance.

Sure, bad behavior does not mean you deserve racist behavior, but I think it sufficient to ensure that you do not deserve any sympathy, as far as my personal opinion is concerned.

Racism exists in all spheres of all life. English cricket is no different. I don't see what the big deal is.

You have to take it in your stride or simply get out of the kitchen if the heat is too much for you. You cannot expect the system to change and the world to turn into utopia because racism morally/ethically wrong.

British Asian cricketers have bigger problems than racism.

 

[Varun]

Let's be real, even we holy souls would cringe if we had to rewind our social media timelines to 10-15 years ago.

 

[Space Cat]

Obviously not a great look for the guy but hes not the first person to do something stupid as a teenager and he wont be the last.

As long as hes grown up and the behaviour hasnt repeated im willing to give the guy a pass in this case. I hope he can use this as a chance to educate other young players coming through.

 

[Rana]

Well that’s a shame, not that I am surprised though. Can’t wait for someone in the England camp to one day spill the beans on Stuart Broad also.

 

[hitthestump]

They are very childish tweets, something a 12 year old would write. He seemed sincerce in his apology, we shouldnt ruin his cricketing care for something in the past.

I hear borderline racist comments from Aussie commies every series when Pak or India are playing them but nobody every complains.

Agree. I have no issue with this being brought to attention and Ollie completing a public apology for the matter. But if this is all there is then once that's done we all should move on and let him get on with his career.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

There seems to be a direct correlation between how big a failure a British Asian cricketer is (which is basically almost everyone) and how much they are going to complain about racism.

Also, I don't see any reason to have sympathy for discriminated cricketer who himself has not covered himself in glory with his behavior in the past. For example, that Azeem Rafique or whatever his name is, abused the U-19 coach on social media when he dropped him because of poor performance.

Sure, bad behavior does not mean you deserve racist behavior, but I think it sufficient to ensure that you do not deserve any sympathy, as far as my personal opinion is concerned.

Racism exists in all spheres of all life. English cricket is no different. I don't see what the big deal is.

You have to take it in your stride or simply get out of the kitchen if the heat is too much for you. You cannot expect the system to change and the world to turn into utopia because racism morally/ethically wrong.

British Asian cricketers have bigger problems than racism.

Nobody is looking for your sympathy. But the problem with your tone-deaf comments is that they white-wash any responsibility the ECB has to deal with racism. Just because racism exists in all walks of life doesn't mean it should be normalized and not dealt with. Being cynical and whitewashing it as just an everyday occurrence that everyone should be A-Okay is a remarkably stupid way to look at it.

Racism in England during the 1960s and 1970s was shocking. You had an English captain openly saying that he intended to make the West Indies "grovel". Do you think something like that would fly now? No. And its not because everyone decided to be cynical and accept racism as an everyday occurrence.

 

[Officer Barbrady]

Just saw the interview with the Sky. Seemed really emotional and close to tears. The cancel culture warriors need to hold their horses.

Well said. It’s absurd and dangerous at the same time. Next we will be litigating what 12 year olds joked about at a birthday party.

 

[SangasCoverDrive]

Well said. It’s absurd and dangerous at the same time. Next we will be litigating what 12 year olds joked about at a birthday party.

It's already happened with multiple football players.

 

[Junaids]

Racism in England during the 1960s and 1970s was shocking. You had an English captain openly saying that he intended to make the West Indies "grovel". Do you think something like that would fly now? No. And its not because everyone decided to be cynical and accept racism as an everyday occurrence.

To be fair, the “grovel” comment came from Tony Greig who was tone-deaf about racism because he was a white South African, but he matured and developed into being an enlightened and non-racist man.

I’d worry much more about what people from white working class English backgrounds like Mike Gatting or Graham Gooch might have said if they had debuted in the Twitter era. They grew up - as did Ollie Robinson - in that southern England uneducated white working class subculture where casual racism abounds, as the Stephen Lawrence case showed.

Robinson said stupid, offensive, crass things nine years ago on social media. I just hope that he has matured and genuinely has changed.

 

[Saj]

This isn’t why he was sacked by Yorkshire. (This kind of behaviour would probably get you promoted to the captaincy there!!!)

He was sacked by Yorkshire due to chronic poor timekeeping as he lived in Kent and partied and endlessly turned up late.

Yorkshire did not go into all of the reasons why he was sacked.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

To be fair, the “grovel” comment came from Tony Greig who was tone-deaf about racism because he was a white South African, but he matured and developed into being an enlightened and non-racist man.

I’d worry much more about what people from white working class English backgrounds like Mike Gatting or Graham Gooch might have said if they had debuted in the Twitter era. They grew up - as did Ollie Robinson - in that southern England uneducated white working class subculture where casual racism abounds, as the Stephen Lawrence case showed.

Robinson said stupid, offensive, crass things nine years ago on social media. I just hope that he has matured and genuinely has changed.

I don't know if you have seen the documentary Fire in Babylon, but in that documentary West Indian players detail the kind of abhorrent racism they were subject to during that tour, most of all from the crowd or the English people in general. Greig's comments were a microcosm of a much greater problem.

That problem still exists today but fact is that kind of open racism would never be allowed fly today and is not socially acceptable. And that's not because everyone decided to be cynical and just accept racism as a fact of life.

 

[gazza619]

Everybody deserves a second chance in life. We all make mistakes.

If he says he has matured then lets give him benefit of doubt shall we?

 

[Junaids]

I don't know if you have seen the documentary Fire in Babylon, but in that documentary West Indian players detail the kind of abhorrent racism they were subject to during that tour, most of all from the crowd or the English people in general. Greig's comments were a microcosm of a much greater problem.

That problem still exists today but fact is that kind of open racism would never be allowed fly today and is not socially acceptable. And that's not because everyone decided to be cynical and just accept racism as a fact of life.

I largely agree with you, and I would add that there has always been a North-South divide in terms of how this kind of casual racism works in the UK.

When the “Cape Coloured” Basil d’Oliveira wrote to the legendary English journalist John Arlott for help arranging a club contract in England in the early 1960’s, Arlott’s response was fascinating.

He immediately went for the Lancashire Leagues. He knew that working class leagues in southern England were populated with what you might call Alf Garnett stereotypes - which is what the 18 year old Ollie Robinson was when he made those stupid posts. And it’s what Stephen Lawrence’s killers were.

There was plenty of discrimination in northern England, but much less of that casual racism. People in small Lancashire and Yorkshire towns and villages welcomed their foreign cricketers just as they welcomed their subcontinental GP to treat their family.

You can’t punish people out of casual racism but you can educate them out of it. I like to think that a decade with Paul Farbrace as his stepdad has made Ollie Robinson realise that the Sri Lankan’s he used to coach - think of Kumar Sangakkara - are more sophisticated than him, not less.

I love Farby, but let’s be honest here: there is no way in this world that a Paul Farbrace would not see that if one out of him or Sanga is intrinsically “superior” it ain’t the white guy!

Hopefully Ollie Robinson now understands that different people’s strengths and weaknesses are not defined by their colour.

 

[angrypathan]

Stupid comments but many people say dumb things as a teenager

 

[globalcitizen]

Twitter platform was quite new 8 years back and, most did not know how Twitter messages posted can come and bite them later. Now most people are more judicious while posting.

Someone is so jealous of him that they had to reveal this on biggest day of his life.

since he has apologised for tweets , this should be let go.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I largely agree with you, and I would add that there has always been a North-South divide in terms of how this kind of casual racism works in the UK.

When the “Cape Coloured” Basil d’Oliveira wrote to the legendary English journalist John Arlott for help arranging a club contract in England in the early 1960’s, Arlott’s response was fascinating.

He immediately went for the Lancashire Leagues. He knew that working class leagues in southern England were populated with what you might call Alf Garnett stereotypes - which is what the 18 year old Ollie Robinson was when he made those stupid posts. And it’s what Stephen Lawrence’s killers were.

There was plenty of discrimination in northern England, but much less of that casual racism. People in small Lancashire and Yorkshire towns and villages welcomed their foreign cricketers just as they welcomed their subcontinental GP to treat their family.

You can’t punish people out of casual racism but you can educate them out of it. I like to think that a decade with Paul Farbrace as his stepdad has made Ollie Robinson realise that the Sri Lankan’s he used to coach - think of Kumar Sangakkara - are more sophisticated than him, not less.

I love Farby, but let’s be honest here: there is no way in this world that a Paul Farbrace would not see that if one out of him or Sanga is intrinsically “superior” it ain’t the white guy!

Hopefully Ollie Robinson now understands that different people’s strengths and weaknesses are not defined by their colour.

Its hard to tell if someone is actually a racist based on comments like these. I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt since he was 18 when he made these comments and has apologized. But fact is closet racists will always be there, in all Western societies. However, if they are regularly called out and made to understand that, that kind of abhorrent is not going to fly than they will atleast think hard about the way they behave in public regardless of the way they behave at home. Which is much better than doing nothing.

 

[161]

I think most desi people growing up in the West suffered racist abuse and bullying from guys like this regularly.

It's tough as a kid and it definitely does effect you psychologically.

Anyone making light of this should think again.

 

[silentkiller187]

Twitter platform was quite new 8 years back and, most did not know how Twitter messages posted can come and bite them later. Now most people are more judicious while posting.

Someone is so jealous of him that they had to reveal this on biggest day of his life.

since he has apologised for tweets , this should be let go.

i wouldn't say jealousy played a part here. Twitter is a public platform , the tweets were readily available and were bought to the attention of the public and rightly so. The irony was the fact that england players displayed all those messages against discrimination prior to the game.

ECB deserves the flak for not doing their due diligence, if they really wanted to make a stand they would then not have selected him.

 

[OMB]

i wouldn't say jealousy played a part here. Twitter is a public platform , the tweets were readily available and were bought to the attention of the public and rightly so. The irony was the fact that england players displayed all those messages against discrimination prior to the game.

ECB deserves the flak for not doing their due diligence, if they really wanted to make a stand they would then not have selected him.

all said and done, ECB still haven't done much

 

[SangasCoverDrive]

Looks unmotivated today. Down on speed too

 

[Rana]

He gets the wicket of DeGrandholme and everyone is cheering him

No big deal it seems

 

[SangasCoverDrive]

He gets the wicket of DeGrandholme and everyone is cheering him

No big deal it seems

So what you want them to do?

 

[Sherlock]

I don't find the tweets as offensive as others tbh, but would I do find offensive is how immature and childish he was at 18. Says a bit more about his upbringing in that regard.

 

[Rana]

So what you want them to do?

Yeah do nothing

 

[Rana]

The guy is still chirping against Jamieson. Seems unfazed. I can only imagine the verbal barrage the likes of him will give to Pakistan and Bangladesh cricketers

 

[cricket4all]

Most peoples views on things like racism likely start in early life as with other things in life. It doesn't matter if it was when he was 18, 11 or it was 20 years ago. The comments are out of order racist and sexist and I very much doubt your general views change that much? He is obviously going to apologise and say the right things now but whether he means it or not only he knows. As he has apologised we should rightly move on but one more strike he should get severe punishment and a ban.

The people who say he was 'only 18' to me are trying to justify or make an excuse for his comments. Age isn't relevant here as if your old enough to represent your contry at 18 then you certainly old enough to be held accountable for offensive comments.

 

[Rana]

The irony of Stuart Broad dropping the catch of a racist to deny him 5 wickets

 

[silentkiller187]

ECB had the chance to send a message to all the kids out there who have aspirations of becoming sports stars, behave from a young age otherwise things can come back to bite you. and for people saying he was young bla bla 18 is old enough to know exactly what your saying, no need for crocodile tears now you are on the international stage

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

There seems to be a direct correlation between how big a failure a British Asian cricketer is (which is basically almost everyone) and how much they are going to complain about racism.

Also, I don't see any reason to have sympathy for discriminated cricketer who himself has not covered himself in glory with his behavior in the past. For example, that Azeem Rafique or whatever his name is, abused the U-19 coach on social media when he dropped him because of poor performance.

Sure, bad behavior does not mean you deserve racist behavior, but I think it sufficient to ensure that you do not deserve any sympathy, as far as my personal opinion is concerned.

Racism exists in all spheres of all life. English cricket is no different. I don't see what the big deal is.

You have to take it in your stride or simply get out of the kitchen if the heat is too much for you. You cannot expect the system to change and the world to turn into utopia because racism morally/ethically wrong.

British Asian cricketers have bigger problems than racism.

If everyone took that view, then how would we have been any further forward from 50 years ago? I guess in America you'd still have separate schools for black and white kids. Because it's "not a big deal" and you "cannot expect the system to change and the world turn into Utopia" right?

Ollie Simpson tweeted those things because when he was 18 it was socially acceptable to do so. Now times have changed, and he is having to eat his words somewhat.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

To be fair, the “grovel” comment came from Tony Greig who was tone-deaf about racism because he was a white South African, but he matured and developed into being an enlightened and non-racist man.

I’d worry much more about what people from white working class English backgrounds like Mike Gatting or Graham Gooch might have said if they had debuted in the Twitter era. They grew up - as did Ollie Robinson - in that southern England uneducated white working class subculture where casual racism abounds, as the Stephen Lawrence case showed.

Robinson said stupid, offensive, crass things nine years ago on social media. I just hope that he has matured and genuinely has changed.

Apartheid era in South Africa had begun way back in 1948 which was probably worse than racism in England. To say Greig was tone deaf to it doesn't make any sense.
He might or might not have grown up and changed but atleast he became conscious about his behavior and statements afterwards.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

Didn't Azeem Rafiq play for Sussex as well? His time probably coincided with Azeem's time there.

 

[BunnyRabbit]

The thing is racism is not an inherent trait but something a person picks up from the environment he grows up in and the atmosphere around him. He may or may not have changed since then, none of us can say.
But at 18, an educated needs to have the conscience to realize the right from wrong.
But I don't think he's the only one to have had such kind of personality in the past or present alone. A lot of people who know others would know how other players behave in person.

Racism, anti religious sentiments, sexism is something that needs to be taught at school level as well cause not every one is blessed with a good atmosphere around them.

Guess he would be penalized now and maybe would have to undergo sensitivity training like some athletes in USA have been undergoing.

 

[MenInG]

Mark Wood, speaking before the start of Thursday's second day at Lord's, told the BBC he hoped Robinson would be able to focus on his cricket.

"Last night was pretty tough for him and the whole team to hear that news," said Wood. "But I think he's going to try to concentrate on the cricket today and get his mind firmly fixed on what is an important morning for us and try to get back in the game.

"Mentally if his head's in that space I think he can do the business again like he did yesterday."

https://www.timesnownews.com/sports...son-to-do-the-business-amid-racism-row/765848

 

[Hasan123]

What a weirdo. Horrible comments. Wouldn't be surprised if England didn't pick him after this test.

 

[Saj]

Didn't Azeem Rafiq play for Sussex as well? His time probably coincided with Azeem's time there.

They were at Yorkshire together, I know that.

 

[MenInG]

Don't think this will go away so easy for our friend Ollie.

 

[cricket4all]

Disgraceful comments, and sadly how some of society has become. If it was one comment we could have said it may have been an error or mistake but these comments show his attitude. These attitudes don’t change over night.

 

[Saj]

Don't think this will go away so easy for our friend Ollie.

View attachment 109345

I'm amazed that not one person at ECB knew about these tweets before he played for England.

 

[MenInG]

England may review the social media history of future players after the emergence of historical racist and sexist tweets by Ollie Robinson, says batting coach Graham Thorpe.

Posts from 2012 and 2013 emerged on Wednesday as seamer Robinson, 27, was making his Test debut against New Zealand at Lord's.

He later said he was "ashamed".

"It's clearly something that might need to be looked at so that a day like yesterday doesn't happen," said Thorpe.

Sussex's Robinson posted the tweets when he was aged 18 and 19.

He took two wickets on the opening day of the first Test, issuing an apology at the close of play by saying: "I want to make it clear that I'm not racist and I'm not sexist.

"I deeply regret my actions, and I am ashamed of making such remarks."

Thorpe, who played 100 Tests for England, said Robinson also apologised to the team.

"In our dressing room we had to support him," said Thorpe.

"It was a tough day for him yesterday. He had to say sorry to the dressing room and sorry to the world. From that perspective it was very hard for him, but he knows he's made a mistake."

Robinson returned on Thursday to take two more wickets - ending with 4-75 - and a catch.

Mark Wood claimed 3-81 as England bowled New Zealand out for 378 before closing on 111-2.

"For whatever he has done, it's still not easy to go back out and perform," said Thorpe.

"He showed good character and he had to be resilient. We were really pleased. His level of performance was exceptional."

The England and Wales Cricket Board is investigating Robinson's actions.

Despite the controversy that has overshadowed his debut, former England captain Michael Vaughan says Robinson has a future in international cricket.

"I don't think it's the last we will see of Ollie Robinson," Vaughan told BBC Test Match Special.

"Yes, he's made a big, big mistake. He's apologised in front of the team and read out a statement on television.

"He was under a huge amount of pressure. In terms of the way he reacted, under that spotlight, it shows that he's got a bit about him."

BBC

 

[Sherlock]

That first one I haven't seen before. That is enough for him to be sacked tbh.

 

[Junaids]

I'm amazed that not one person at ECB knew about these tweets before he played for England.

These tweets are just the ramblings of an uneducated, immature cretin.

TBH the most offensive tweet was the Gary Speed one.

Hopefully the cretin has grown up.

 

[Technics 1210]

What a laughable thread.

We have all said far worse stuff than this, at a younger age, even now, the only difference is we say it among friends in private, bad boy Ollie said it in public. Basically he got caught and had he not done he wouldn't have apologised let alone felt any kind of remorse.

 

[globalcitizen]

It seems like the tweets are private and conversing directlt with another. I can't be sure if those tweets were in public domain ever.

 

[Bewal Express]

The guy is an idiot but you do more damage with the hounding of these guys than their posts ever did. Move on.

 

[Bewal Express]

That first one I haven't seen before. That is enough for him to be sacked tbh.

What 8 years after he said them?

 

[cricket4all]

What a laughable thread.

We have all said far worse stuff than this, at a younger age, even now, the only difference is we say it among friends in private, bad boy Ollie said it in public. Basically he got caught and had he not done he wouldn't have apologised let alone felt any kind of remorse.

To an extent, but not everyone, and you can not say it in public or it will get called out, be it 8 years down the line.

It is far worse though not knowing someone is racist and sexist because of them hiding it. You don’t know what is in someone’s heart but even bad private thoughts are not punishable if not acted upon. Robinson’s tweets were him carrying out ‘the act’.

 

[Sir-fraz]

Disgusting.

The guy was 18 at the time, but surely the ECB should have checked the reasons why he was sacked at Yorkshire.

Yea he was 18 i remember when i was 18. People make mistakes...

 

[Sir-fraz]

What a laughable thread.

We have all said far worse stuff than this, at a younger age, even now, the only difference is we say it among friends in private, bad boy Ollie said it in public. Basically he got caught and had he not done he wouldn't have apologised let alone felt any kind of remorse.

I agree, world has become to sensitive and soft. People have the thinnest skin now. He was 18 give me a break we've all done some stupid a** sh*t when we were 18.

This is actually a joke compared to what we say jokely among friends. People nowadays are quick to judge and are hypocrites because im 100% sure these type of jokes are made among all men.