Cricket: 'Couldn’t believe them' - Joe Root reacts to Ollie Robinson’s racist, sexist historical tweets
Story highlights
England Test captain Joe Root was straight on point as he labelled Ollie Robinson’s controversial tweets as “not acceptable”. Back in 2012 and 2013, Robinson had tweeted a few racist and sexist tweets and it went viral during his England debut at Lord’s against New Zealand.
England Test captain Joe Root was straight on point as he labelled Ollie Robinson’s controversial tweets as “not acceptable”. Back in 2012 and 2013, Robinson had come up with a few racist and sexist tweets that went viral during his England debut at Lord’s against New Zealand.
While Robinson came out with a heartfelt apology, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has now decided to suspend the pacer from international cricket, pending investigation. Due to the decision, Robinson won’t be a part of the second Test against New Zealand at the Edgbaston, starting Thursday, and it remains to be seen whether he would be included in the squad for the five-Test series against India.
The English all-rounder will now return to his County club, Sussex. While Root lauded him for a brilliant debut, the England Test skipper added that he couldn’t believe the tweets personally.
“He’s contributed well with the bat, his performance with the ball was excellent. He’s showed high levels of skill and he’s definitely got the game that can be successful in Test cricket,” Root was quoted as saying in the post-match press conference.
“But in regards to the stuff that’s happened off the field, it’s not acceptable within our game. We all know that. He addressed the dressing room straight away. He obviously spoke to you guys and other media outlets straight away, fronted up to it. He showed a lot of remorse from that point onwards. You can see it’s very genuine from how he’s been around the group and the team,” he stated.
ALSO READ: Cricket: Yuvraj Singh reveals why India will have 'slight disadvantage' in WTC Final vs New Zealand
“I couldn’t believe them [the tweets], personally. I didn’t really know how to take it on the surface. I think the most important thing is Ollie is part of this dressing room and we had to support him,” Root added.
Root also opined that educating each other and trying to raise awareness among fans should also be paramount.