England Debutant Ollie Robinson Apologises For Racist And Sexist

Ollie Robinson

Soon after the opening day of the first Test against New Zealand, the 27-year-old fast bowler apologized for his many tweets on gender discrimination and racism from 2012 to 2014.

It should have been a happy day for Ollie Robinson to take two wickets on his Test debut for England but instead, he will miss the biggest day of his cricketing career for the wrong reasons. 

Soon after the opening day of the first Test against New Zealand, the 27-year-old fast bowler apologized for his many tweets on gender discrimination and racism from 2012 to 2014. 

These tweets became a topic of discussion on social media after Robinson was included in the team.

 

Robinson said, 'I am deeply sorry for my actions and I am ashamed to make such comments.' He read out the statement first to the official broadcaster and then to other media. The fast bowler said, 'I was thoughtless and irresponsible then and whatever my mood then, my work was not pardonable.'

Robinson said that he made these tweets when he was going through a bad phase in his life as English county Yorkshire kicked him out as a teenager. "I don't know if this tweet still exists," he told a news conference. I want to apologize to everyone. I am very sorry for this.'

These tweets were being shared on social media when Robinson was on the field. During this, he took two wickets for 50 runs. He showed Tom Latham and Ross Taylor the way to the pavilion. 

"There should have been a discussion about my performance on the field today and my Test debut for England, but my past behavior has ruined it," he said. Robinson said, 'Over the years I worked very hard to transform my life. I have matured now.

 

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive Tom Harrison said he had "no words to describe how disappointed I am that an England cricketer made such tweets". 

"The image that any person, especially a woman or a black person, after reading these words, will create in their mind the image of cricket and cricketers is completely unacceptable," he said. 

Robinson said, 'I do not want to underestimate the efforts of my teammates and the ECB from what happened eight years ago because it has continued to take meaningful action with a wide range of initiatives and efforts that I fully support.'