Former West Indies captain Darren Sammy has been in the headlines from the past few days. Recently, the two time T20 World Cup-winning skipper had alleged that he and Sri Lanka all-rounder Thisara Perera were subjected to racist slurs during their stint with Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
Sammy had revealed that he used to get called ‘Kalu’ and expressed his anger and disappointment after learning the meaning of the word. In an emotive video on Instagram, Sammy had recalled how players in the dressing room would share a laugh after calling him ‘Kalu’, which he earlier perceived as a strong stallion.
However, few fans on Twitter explained to Sammy that such a word does not always mean that people are racial. On Wednesday, a Twitter user told Sammy that the name ‘Kalu’ is not always a racial slur and it depends on what context it is being used.
The user even cited an example of how his grandmother used to call him ‘Kalu’ in an affectionate way.
“@darensammy88 Just so that you know, “Kaalu” is NOT always a racist slur. It’d also be an endearing term used in Indian families. My late grandma used to call me that. It depends on the context/tone. Yes, it could be racist. Not always,” the user wrote.
@darensammy88 Just so that you know, “Kalu” is NOT always a racist slur. It’d also be an endearing term used in Indian families. My late grandma used to call me that. It depends on the context/tone. Yes, it could be racist. Not always.
— Abhinav Khare (@iabhinavKhare) June 10, 2020
Soon, Sammy responded and said that any word that can have a racial tone to it should not be used.
“So if there can be a racist slur to it I don’t think it should be used,” Sammy tweeted.
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
Earlier, Sammy’s former SRH teammates Irfan Pathan, Parthiv Patel and Venugopal Rao have denied backing the allegations saying if certain things had happened, it would have been noticed.
“I was there with him (Sammy) in 2014. I feel had this really happened; the matter would definitely have been discussed. So I’m not aware of such things as nothing was discussed more largely,” Pathan had said.
Not only in cricket, but several other sports stars in the past few days have also raised their voice against racism and discrimination in sports. It all started after the tragic killing of African-American man George Floyd in the United States of America.
