Last week, former West Indies skipper Darren Sammy had alleged that he was subjected to racist slurs during his stint with Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Sammy even released a video on Instagram, stating when he got to know the meaning of the ‘derogatory word’ he was really hurt. After which, the two time T20 World Cup-winning skipper decided to personally contact those people who used to call him by that ‘insulting word’.
“I will be messaging those people, you guys know who you are, I must admit at that time when I was being called as that word I thought the word meant strong stallion or whatever it is, I did not know what it meant, every time I was called with that word, there was laughter at that moment, I thought teammates are laughing so it must be something funny,” Sammy had said.
Now, Sammy has posted an update concerning the matter that he had the conversation with ‘one of the players’ that the Saint Lucian cricketer had accused of using a racist jibe. Sammy also revealed that the player had assured him that he used to do that from ‘a place of love’.
“I’m pleased to say that I’ve had a really interesting conversation with one of the guys and we are looking at ways to educate rather than focusing on the negatives. My brother reassured me that he operated from a place of love, and I believe him,” tweeted Sammy.
I’m please to say that I’ve had a really interesting conversation with one of the guys and we are looking at ways to educate rather than focusing on the negatives. My brother reassured me that he operated from a place of love 💕 and I believe him. 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
— Daren Sammy (@darensammy88) June 11, 2020
Earlier, a fan on Twitter explained to Sammy that such a word does not always mean that people are racial as it depends on what context it is being used. The user even cited an example of how his grandmother used to call him with that word in a loving way.
However, Sammy was of the opinion that any word that can have a racial tone to, should not be used at all.
So if there can be a racist slur to it I don’t think it should be used. https://t.co/PaaTco0ibs
— Daren Sammy (@darensammy88) June 10, 2020
From the past few days, several other sports stars have been raising their voice against racism and discrimination in sports. It all started after the sad killing of African-American man George Floyd in the United States of America.