Robinson ban over the top: UK government
‘‘Ollie Robinson’s tweets were offensive and wrong. They are also a decade old and written by a teenager.’’ Oliver Dowden British Culture Secretary
The British government called on England’s cricket authorities to reconsider the suspension of fast bowler Ollie Robinson while he is being investigated for making discriminatory posts on Twitter from 2012-13.
Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden weighed in on the matter a day after Robinson was told by the England and Wales Cricket Board he could not play for England while there is an investigation into the racist and sexist tweets he posted as a teenager. The controversy surfaced during his test debut against New Zealand at Lord’s.
‘‘Ollie Robinson’s tweets were offensive and wrong,’’ Dowden said on Twitter. ‘‘They are also a decade old and written by a teenager. The teenager is now a man and has rightly apologised. The ECB has gone over the top by suspending him and should think again.’’
Later in the day, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’’s official spokesperson said: ‘‘The Prime Minister is supportive of the comments from Oliver Dowden that he made via tweet this morning. As Oliver Dowden set out, these were comments made more than a decade ago [sic] written by someone as a teenager, for which they’ve rightly apologised.’’
The ECB declined to comment on Dowden’s remarks.
Robinson took seven wickets in two innings and also hitting 42 in England’s first innings but has been banned for the rematch.
The tweets he posted when he was 18 and 19 resurfaced during the first day of the test and Robinson was close to tears as he issued an apology after stumps. He played the rest of the match and was suspended a few hours after it finished in a draw on Monday (NZT).
Robinson can still play for his county side, Sussex.
The development came as it was confirmed the ECB was investigating claims a second England player posted ‘‘historic offensive material’’.
The Press Association reported Wisden.com had discovered a tweet, publishing its content but concealing the alleged England player’s identity because he was under the age of 16 at the time.
The ECB said in a statement: ‘‘It has been brought to our attention that an England player has posted historic offensive material on their social media account. We are looking into it.’’
The Robinson saga has been deeply embarrassing not just for Robinson but also for the ECB, with the tweets resurfacing hours after England’s players shared a ‘‘moment of unity’’ with their New Zealand counterparts by wearing T-shirts designed to show a collective stance against discrimination of all kinds.
‘‘It was disappointing for us as a group,’’ England coach Chris Silverwood said. ‘‘It is a stark reminder of the responsibilities we hold in the positions we are in. Obviously there is absolutely no place in this game for any form of discrimination.
‘‘The big thing for Ollie is education. We are all striving to be better. None of us are perfect. We all need to follow through on the education to make sure we are learning all the time, we make the world a better place and that this game is inclusive for everybody.’’
Silverwood said Robinson was ‘‘devastated, embarrassed and very remorseful’’ about his conduct.
Asked if the matter could end Robinson’s international career, Silverwood said: ‘‘The investigation will happen and any decision will be taken after that. Let’s see what they find first.’’
The BBC has reported that, as part of the investigation, the ECB must determine whether Robinson had a professional contract at the time of the tweets.
He said during his apology that the tweets were sent during a tough period in his life after he’d been fired by English county Yorkshire.