England's Joe Root praised for response to alleged homophobia
The England cricket captain Joe Root has been widely hailed for his response to alleged homophobic abuse after telling an opponent that “there is nothing wrong with being gay”.
Root was out in the middle during the third and final Test in Saint Lucia on Monday when he had a heated altercation with the West Indies fast bowler Shannon Gabriel.
While the stump microphones did not pick up Gabriel’s initial remarks, he was spoken to about his language by the umpires at the time. On Tuesday night he was charged with a breach of the International Cricket Council’s code of conduct for using “language of a personal, insulting, obscene and/or offensive nature”.
The UK sport minister, Mims Davies, said Root deserved huge praise for immediately calling out the remarks and said his actions should “serve as an example to anyone who sees homophobic abuse” to do the same.
“What a leader, ambassador and huge respect for doing the absolute right thing to properly call this out,” she tweeted. “There is no place for it in sport.”
Her sentiment was shared by the former England hockey captain Kate Richardson-Walsh, who is gay. “This is what being an LGBTQ ally looks like. Thank you Joe Root. This calm and firm response will make a difference in ways we may never see and never know,” she tweeted.
Meanwhile, Kirsty Clarke, the director of sport for the LGBT charity Stonewall, said Root’s behaviour would help kick discrimination out of sport. “Tackling offensive language is a crucial part of helping LGBT people feel welcome in sport,” she said. “Language is really influential and it’s great Joe Root stepped up to challenge abusive comments.”
Clarke said Stonewall research showed 58% of British people believe it is important for anti-LGBT language to be challenged at live sporting events. “The more players, fans, clubs and organisations that stand up for equality in sport, the sooner we kick discrimination out and make sport everyone’s game,” she added.
Steve Davies, the former England wicketkeeper who came out as gay in 2011, applauded Root’s stance on Twitter. The Somerset player wrote:
Speaking after England’s victory on Tuesday evening, Root said he had acted instinctively after hearing comments he profoundly disagreed with. “I just did what I thought was right,” he added. “You have responsibility to go about things in a certain manner on the field and it felt appropriate to act how I did.
“The ICC have got to handle things and I am not in a position to comment but throughout the series it has been played in the right manner between the two sides. West Indies have played some fantastic cricket, they are a good bunch of guys and it would be a shame if it tarnishes it.
“As a player, you feel you have responsibilities to uphold on the field and I stand by what I did.”
Root has not yet elaborated on what exactly Gabriel said to him, suggesting only that it was “something he might regret”. However, his response to the bowler’s sledging was immediate – with Root telling the West Indian bowler twice “Don’t use it as an insult” before adding: “There’s nothing wrong with being gay.”
The former cricketer Nasser Hussain, who captained England from 1999 to 2003, said Root’s response was more important than his team winning the match. “I don’t know who said what to whom, but boy do I applaud Joe Root’s reaction,” he said. “For me, his 12 words as a role model will be in the end more important than a Test hundred or possible victory.
“Root, as England captain, stood up in the middle of a Test match to what he thought was homophobic abuse and said ‘I’m not having that’. He could have shrugged or laughed it off, but he didn’t. There’s no room for homophobia on or off the cricket pitch, which is why I applaud what Joe Root did.”
If found guilty Gabriel is likely to be suspended for several games. Last month Sarfraz Ahmed, the Pakistan captain, was given a four-match ban under the ICC’s anti-racism code after stump microphones picked up a remark to South Africa’s Andile Phehlukwayo during a one-day international.
Homosexuality is illegal in Saint Lucia, and those convicted can face a prison sentence of between five and 10 years.