Former West Indies captain Darren Sammy has called on the International Cricket Council (ICC) and other cricket governing bodies to let their voices be heard in standing up against racial injustice.
In recent days, both violent and peaceful protests have swept across the United States as citizens demand justice for the killing of George Floyd. Floyd, an African American male in his 40s, died after a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, was recorded kneeling on his neck while he was pinned to the floor for several minutes during an arrest.
According to reports, police had been called to the scene after a convenience store clerk alerted the authorities regarding what he suspected to be a counterfeit $20 bill used by Floyd to purchase a pack of cigarettes. Chauvin has since been arrested and charged with third-degree murder but protests have continued to boil over as the issue has sparked a larger debate regarding the deep-seated issue of racial injustice.
Many athletes around the world, spanning several generations, have not been shy in making their thoughts known on the issue. The long list includes NBA greats Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Lebron James, and rising tennis star Coco Gauff. In the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho and Achraf Hakimi displayed “Justice for George Floyd messages” scrawled on t-shirts hidden beneath their jerseys after scoring. Schalke’s 21-year-old American midfielder Weston McKennie and Borussia Monchengladbach’s 22-year-old French forward Marcus Thuram also displayed support for the movement.
Closer home the ICC T20 World Cup-winning captain believes things have been too quiet and called on officials to add their voices to the mix.
“@ICC and all other boards are you guys not seeing what’s happening to people like me? Are you not gonna speak against the social injustice against my kind…” Sammy said in a series of tweets.
“Now is not the time to be silent. I wanna hear u.”
Joining Sammy in speaking out was West Indies star batsman Chris Gayle who also posted a message on social media that advocated for black lives to be considered as important as any other life.
“Black life matters just as any other life,” Gayle’s statement read.
“Even within teams as a Black man, I get the end of the stick.”