Ollie Robinson apologizes “unreservedly” for the racist and sexist messages he posted on Twitter when he was 18 years old in 2012; Tweets resurfaced when Robinson dropped 2-50 out of 16 overs on the first day of England Test’s debut at Lord’s; BCE to investigate under its disciplinary process
England sailor Ollie Robinson apologized for the racist and sexist tweets he posted more than eight years ago that emerged on the day of his test debut.
Ollie Robinson has apologized “unreservedly” for a series of racist and sexist messages he posted on Twitter in 2012, adding that he was “embarrassed” by the social media posts that resurfaced the day he made his England debut. Test.
After drawing 2-50 of his 16 overs on the first day of the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s, Robinson made the following statement when speaking with Sky sports post play:
“On the most important day of my career so far, I am ashamed of the racist and sexist tweets I posted more than eight years ago, released today,” Robinson said. “I want to make it clear that I am neither racist nor sexist.
“I deeply regret my actions and am ashamed to make such comments.
“I was inconsiderate and irresponsible, and regardless of my state of mind at the time, my actions were unforgivable. Since that period, I have matured as a person and completely regret the tweets.”
“Today should be about my efforts on the field and pride in making my testing debut for England, but my thoughtless demeanor in the past has clouded this.
“In recent years, I have worked hard to change my life. I have matured considerably as an adult. The work and education that I personally obtained from the PCA, my county of Sussex and the England cricket team have helped me come to the terms and gain a deep understanding of how to be a responsible professional cricketer.
“I would like to fully apologize to everyone I have offended, my teammates and the game as a whole in what has been a day of action and awareness to combat discrimination in 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 actions with their comprehensive initiatives and efforts, which I fully support and support.
“I will continue to educate myself, seek advice and work with the support network that is available to learn more about how to improve in this area. I am sorry, and I have certainly learned my lesson today.”
Robinson’s offensive tweets were sent when the sewing bowler was 18, but came to light while making his England Test debut, on a day when players from England and New Zealand participated in a ‘Moment drive ‘before the start. of the game to show their collective determination to fight any form of discrimination in cricket.
Players and referees fell silent in the outfield in front of the pavilion, with the England team wearing jerseys incorporating anti-discrimination messages on the front and back.
Tom Harrison, Executive Director of the ECB, also issued a statement on the matter, saying: “I have no words to express how disappointed I am that a male England player chose to tweet of this nature, however long that might. occur”. has been.
“Anyone reading those words, particularly a woman or person of color, would remove an image of cricketers and cricketers that is completely unacceptable. We are better than this.
“We have a zero tolerance stance for any form of discrimination and there are rules that handle conduct of this nature. We will initiate a full investigation as part of our disciplinary process.
“Our England men’s team, along with 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 advancing 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 continued education and engagement on this issue. “.
Sky Sports Cricket Expert Nasser Hussain, who was recently part of a joint campaign between Sky Sports and BBC Sport called ‘Hate Won’t Win’, said he hoped Robinson’s mistakes would serve as a stark warning to others.
“It’s really just a lesson, that if you are in and around the team, first treat everything you do on social media as if you were at a press conference.
“If you’re going to wear t-shirts about online hate and online abuse and sexism and racism, you can’t be doing this – it’s just not good enough, it’s just not turned on.
“But I also think that we are probably a bit cruel society if we don’t realize that an 18-year-old does make mistakes and has made mistakes and has done terribly wrong and is confronted.
“It doesn’t get it right by any means; I’ve read the tweets, I’ve seen the tweets, they’re horrible, they’re not right and you should never say those things if you’re 18 or 28 years old.
“It’s a good lesson for anyone on social media; when you do this kind of thing and post it, whether it’s after a few beers at 4 AM or whenever, it’s forever. Put it out there.
