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Thirty former South Africa cricketers, together with Makhaya Ntini, Herschelle Gibbs and Vernon Philander, on Tuesday got here out in assist of the worldwide Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, saying racism stays a part of the sport within the nation.
In a statement, the former cricketers additionally threw their weight behind present South Africa pacer Lungi Ngidi, who was not too long ago criticised by ex-Proteas like Pat Symcox and Boeta Dippenaar for supporting the BLM marketing campaign. Ntini, Philander, Gibbs, Ashwell Prince, JP Duminy and Paul Adams have been among the many 30 cricketers who’ve signed the statement.
“We commend Lungi Ngidi for supporting Black Lives Matter – and we’d like to add our support for it too. We note the criticism aimed at Lungi for expressing his views and we hope that Cricket South Africa (CSA), together with fellow cricketers – both present and past – will come out strongly in support of BLM,” learn the statement which was printed on ‘Sport24’.
“We note too that the most outspoken criticism directed at Ngidi has come via former players such as Pat Symcox, Boeta Dippenaar, Rudi Steyn, Brian McMillan and others, and we urge that their views be challenged,”
The former gamers stated they weren’t stunned when the likes of Symcox and Dippenaar criticised Ngidi. Dippenar had responded saying “all lives matter” and Ngidi must also discuss concerning the loss of life of white farmers within the nation.
“Given South Africa’s well-known past, black cricketers have borne the brunt of subtle and overt racist behaviour for many years, including from some colleagues… there is a need to understand how white privilege feeds into the perpetuation of these old attitudes and assumptions,” the statement stated.
“Our attitude, mistakenly, we now believe, has always been to say: ‘These are teething problems, and that these will be resolved if we are patient’.
“But after almost three decades of cricket unity, the views expressed from one side of the racial divide are still very much part of our lives, and we now believe: ‘Teething problems cannot be allowed to continue for this long’.”
Racism has turn out to be a subject of world debate following the loss of life of African-American George Floyd by the hands of a white police officer within the USA. Several cricketers, together with West Indians like Michael Holding, Chris Gayle and Darren Sammy, have opened up about their very own experiences whereas voicing assist to the BLM movement.
On day one of many first Test between England and the West Indies final week, Holding had delivered a robust speech on racism. The West Indian nice had stated that the black race has been dehumanised and it’ll proceed to be a sufferer till your complete humanity will not be educated on racism.
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