Former West Indies skipper Darren Sammy has called on the International Cricket Council (ICC) and other bodies to prioritise addressing racism in the sport, with as much gusto as it tackles integrity of the game issues.

The issue of societal racial inequality barged its way into public discourse after an unarmed African American man, George Floyd, was killed in the United States by white police officers a few months ago. 

As part of the process of reckoning, Sammy had himself reacted with anger when he discovered that the name previously used to refer to him by Indian Premier League (IPL) teammates, a few seasons ago, was the equivalent of the derogatory term ‘blackie.’  Since then, several players have admitted that they too have been impacted by racism in the sport.  Sammy, who has found himself at the forefront of the cricket movement, believes a lot more can be done to address the issue.

 “We made the recommendations.  You know racism is real. It’s not something that we can hide,” Sammy told Reuters news agency in a recent interview.

“So I urge them, the same emphasis they put on protecting the integrity of the game.  Why not protect the integrity of the human being?”