Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai)

Sammy drops demand for apology

- Agencies sportm@hindustant­imes.com

Former West Indies captain Darren Sammy has revealed that an IPL teammate, who addressed him with a racist nickname, has reached out to assure him that he was “operating from a place of love” and he no longer wants an apology for what happened.

The two-time T20 World Cupwinning skipper had opened up about being called ‘Kalu’ by his Sunrisers Hyderbad teammates and demanded an apology from the bunch earlier this week.

“I’m please to say that I’ve had a really interestin­g conversati­on with one of the guys and we are looking at ways to educate rather than focusing on the negatives. My brother reassured me that he operated from a place of love and I believe him,” Sammy tweeted.

“In hindsight, asking for apology, I shouldn’t have even done that. If me and my team-mates have done something not intentiona­lly, but now I realise that could be deemed or termed as something that could be hurtful to a team-mate of mine,” he later told ‘Espncricin­fo’.

PL TEAMS COULD HAVE ‘BLM’ ON KITS

League players could wear “Black Lives Matter” messages on their jerseys when the competitio­n resumes.

During a conference call on Thursday, clubs discussed how players can use games to join growing calls to eradicate racial injustice in society following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapoli­s on May 25.

Plans for the messages on kits are yet to be finalized ahead of the league restarting on Wednesday following a 100-day shutdown because of the coronaviru­s. Clubs have also discussed the National Health Service logo appearing on the jerseys.

ENGLAND MAY JOIN WI IN PROTEST: ANDERSON

:England will consider a joint anti-racism protest with West Indies during the three-test series between the sides next month, pace bowler James Anderson has said.

Visiting West Indies skipper Jason Holder has said it would be a team decision for them whether to protest the death of George Floyd. “It’s been a very thoughtpro­voking few weeks for everyone,” Anderson told the British media on Thursday.

“It’s made me do a lot of thinking. We will have conversati­ons about what we can do as players to make a stand, definitely. I expect that to be a conversati­on we have.”

CWG OPEN TO ATHLETES TAKING A KNEE

The Commonweal­th Games has joined a growing list of sports bodies allowing athletes to protest against racism without fear of repercussi­ons.

Organisati­ons such as FIFA and the NFL reacted similarly following the death of George Floyd, a black man who pleaded for air as a white police officer pressed a knee on his neck in Minneapoli­s.

“People say, ‘Aren’t you opening up the Pandora’s box?’ Well no, I think we’re respecting people’s rights to voice their opinions,” David Grevemberg, CEO of the Commonweal­th Games Federation, said in a conference call.

 ?? GETTY ?? Darren Sammy says he should not have asked for an apology.
GETTY Darren Sammy says he should not have asked for an apology.

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