The 25-year-old opening batsman scored a 72-ball 132 against the Barbados Tridents to propel the Guyana Amazon Warriors to the 2019 CPL final. It was the highest individual score in CPL history.
For 2020, King wants to do more than shine with the bat. He wants to shine off the field as well as he announced on social media on Monday.
“Over the past few months, I’ve had some time to really think about how I could make a positive impact on communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and also the Black Lives Matter movement,” King wrote.
“So this year I will be sporting my black SG stickers and along with my management team, GGSM, we will be donating USD$100 for every six I hit during this year’s CPL tournament. Donations will be split between the Greater Trench Town Foundation in Jamaica and a charity in Guyana to be decided at a later date.”
King believes that more than ever before athletes need to do more to champion causes that make their communities better.
“As athletes, we have the platform to speak up and make effective change,” he said.
“I am encouraging my sponsors, other athletes, and friends to join in on donations by either supporting a #BLM initiative of your choice or by matching my donations towards these local charities.
“I am hopeful and looking forward to getting back out on the field very soon.”
Initially, England and West Indies adopted the anti-racism stance ahead of their three-Test matches in July as part of the worldwide protests following the death of George Floyd in Minnesota.
Sports like the NBA and English Premier League (IPL) have, however, continued the gesture of taking a knee. In cricket, England and Ireland also took the knee in their ODI series, after the West Indies, but that position was shelved when the home side welcomed Pakistan and Australia later in the year.
"I personally was a bit disappointed to see how the Pakistan and Australia tours went on after ours. That they were not showing their solidarity afterwards,” Holder said, after he and his team were given the Cricket Writers' Club's Peter Smith Award for becoming the first international team to tour amid the coronavirus pandemic.
"It's a hard challenge and a long hard road. It's not an overnight fix but the most important thing is we come together and see each other as equal human beings,” he added.
Legendary West Indies bowler turned commentator Michael Holding was critical of the lack of action.
The issue of racial injustice has been at the forefront of global discussion in recent weeks, following the killing of an African American George Floyd by a white police officer. Derek Chauvin was filmed with his knee on the neck of Floyd for nearly nine minutes in a video that prompted anguish and outrage around the globe.
The issue has morphed into a broader discussion on the need for an end to racial discrimination and inequality, with several athletes joining the cause. Holder noted that although it was important to be professional, the circumstances can be tough for players to take.
“Look, as a player, you just got to be professional and shut it out, but some comments are such that it’s hard to block out. You know some of those comments sometimes make people retaliate,” Holder said during an Instagram talk with sports commentator Arun Venugopal.
“I haven’t personally had to bear the brunt of any of them, but I have seen things with people like Moeen Ali and Hashim Amla [who were subjected to racist attacks]. I have met Hashim Amla, I have played cricket with Hashim Amla. If you probably think I am a nice man, he is the ultimate nice guy, man. He is the nicest person that I have ever met, swear to God,” Holder added.
“And to hear people get down on Hashim and say things or even bring racial comments into it, it is just sad, man. It’s just sad to see the level of intelligence of people,” he added.
Legendary West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding was recently critical of both teams, as he pointed out that they had ditched the symbolic taking a knee gesture during the ongoing series. England and the West Indies showed support for the movement before all three Tests at the start of the season, and the practice continued for the one-day series against Ireland. It has not been seen for the visits of Pakistan and Australia.
While insisting that the team had not forgotten the issue, Langer pointed out that Australia had simply been focused on the series and unusual circumstances, but that in retrospect there could have been more discussions surrounding the issue.
“When Mikey says what he says, it’s certainly worth listening to. In terms of taking a knee, to be completely honest, we could have talked more about it perhaps leading up to the first game,” Langer said.
“There was so much going on leading up to us getting here, maybe we should have talked more about it,” he added.
“What we do talk about within the team was that we want to have a response that is sustained and powerful and that it can go not just in one action but a sustained period. Not just throughout this series and the summer but throughout time.
“I just hope if it looked like there was a lack of respect, it wasn’t the intention of our team. We were very aware of it.”
England pace bowler Jofra Archer had issued a much sharper response, insisting that England had not forgotten the issue and that Holding should have “done his research”.
His greatest achievements as a player came while playing league cricket in England.
One season, playing for Leicestershire, he scored 1244 runs and took 56 wickets. In that season, Simmons was said to have been bowling very quickly, a change from his generally medium-paced efforts.
But before those exploits, Simmons, who played in England during the 1980s and ‘90s, said while playing in the Northeast of the country, he faced quite a bit of racial abuse.
"It's not a nice thing to face. Especially in the leagues where you're by yourself sometimes. It affected my wife when I was up there. It's not a nice thing.
"I played in three or four different leagues. It was one particular league up in the northeast."
Simmons was speaking before the West Indies revealed it will be using a Black Lives Matter logo created by partner of Watford City football club captain, Troy Deeney, Alisha Hosannah.
At the time, Simmons was as yet unsure about how the West Indies would show its unity with the Black Lives Matter movement.
The West Indies are in England for the #RaisyourBat series for the Wisden Trophy.
The three-Test series begins July 8 at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton with two other games scheduled for Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester.
Before Wednesday’s start to the #RaiseTheBat series at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton, both West Indies and England teams announced they would wear the Black Lives Matter logo on the collars of their playing shirts.
They further demonstrated support by kneeling on the field and on the boundary.
All members of the West Indies squad also wore black gloves. In addition, a flag was flown over the team’s balcony with the composite logos of Cricket West Indies and Black Lives Matter on the traditional maroon background.
Speaking ahead of the series, West Indies Head Coach Phil Simmons said:
PULLQuote: “It means a hell of a lot to all the players and all the staff on the tour. But it's not just about now, it's about life on the whole.”
The Black Lives Matter emblem was designed by Alisha Hosannah, the partner of Troy Deeney, captain of English Premier League side Watford.
He was contacted by CWI and permission was granted for the logo to be displayed on the collar according to ICC regulations.
The logo has a clenched fist in place of the letter “A” in the word “Black”. It has also been used on the shirts of all 20 Premier League clubs since football returned behind closed doors following the break for COVID-19.
