Daren Sammy clarifies racist slur in 2014 VVS Laxman tweet and why he spoke out about the incident later
One of the players involved reached out to Sammy.
By ET Online | Updated:
Daren Sammy’s allegations of racial discrimination on players of the IPL franchise SunRisers Hyderabad have sent shockwaves around the country, with people digging up old social media posts of both Sammy and his fellow players. The Caribbean cricketer has now clarified what his tweet for VVS Laxman meant.
To put things in context, Sammy, on November 1, 2014, had sent out a tweet to wish cricketer VVS Laxman on his birthday. In the tweet, the former West Indies captain had used the same racist slur that he had alleged was used against him by the SunRisers Hyderabad players.
Happy birthday @VVSLaxman281 May God continue to bless you. #bestdresser oh remember dark kalu. 😂😂😂— Daren Sammy (@darensammy88) 1414848278000Sammy, in an interview with ESPNCricInfo, has clarified what his tweet for VVS Laxman meant. The 36-year-old said that he used the racial slur, thinking it implied a stallion.
“I thought it meant a stallion. If you notice back in 2014 I sent a Happy Birthday tweet to VVS Laxman. I said: "Happy Birthday to you brother. Hope you have a great day." And I started laughing. And I said, "remember dark k***." So I was saying: remember the dark stallion. So, imagine (now) you listening six years later and somebody from that culture telling you, "Hey, bro, this word has a degrading meaning to you because of the colour of your skin." Then automatically you want to have a conversation.”
In the interview, Sammy also clarified why he didn’t speak about the incident before. He said that he learnt the meaning of the racist slur after watching a video by Hasan Minhaj.
“It's only because now I have information that I was being called a word that was degrading, that's why I am talking about it now. And if there's one thing I've learned: every time you are talking about the right things, anytime is the right time,” Sammy explained.
Sammy has since been wanting to speak to the people involved and understand their intentions behind using the word for him. On Thursday, Sammy sent out a tweet sharing with his Twitter followers that one of the players involved has reached out to him and has had an interesting conversation.
The all-rounder also said that he is looking for ways to educate rather than focussing on the negatives. Calling the concerned player his ‘brother’ Sammy said that he assured him that he operated from a place of love.
The cold-blooded murder of George Floyd, an African-American man in Minneapolis, US hs reignited the debate on racial discrimination and Sammy, is one of the many African-Americans who have come forward to share their story.
In a 4-minute 59-second Instagram video, Sammy had opened up about the incident of him getting racially abused by SunRisers Hyderabad players. He had said ‘you know who you are’, and had urged the people involved to reach out to him.
Sammy had also urged the ICC to take a strict action and measures to curb racism in cricket, much like the establishment of an anti-corruption task force to curb match fixing.
To put things in context, Sammy, on November 1, 2014, had sent out a tweet to wish cricketer VVS Laxman on his birthday. In the tweet, the former West Indies captain had used the same racist slur that he had alleged was used against him by the SunRisers Hyderabad players.
Happy birthday @VVSLaxman281 May God continue to bless you. #bestdresser oh remember dark kalu. 😂😂😂— Daren Sammy (@darensammy88) 1414848278000Sammy, in an interview with ESPNCricInfo, has clarified what his tweet for VVS Laxman meant. The 36-year-old said that he used the racial slur, thinking it implied a stallion.
“I thought it meant a stallion. If you notice back in 2014 I sent a Happy Birthday tweet to VVS Laxman. I said: "Happy Birthday to you brother. Hope you have a great day." And I started laughing. And I said, "remember dark k***." So I was saying: remember the dark stallion. So, imagine (now) you listening six years later and somebody from that culture telling you, "Hey, bro, this word has a degrading meaning to you because of the colour of your skin." Then automatically you want to have a conversation.”
In the interview, Sammy also clarified why he didn’t speak about the incident before. He said that he learnt the meaning of the racist slur after watching a video by Hasan Minhaj.
“It's only because now I have information that I was being called a word that was degrading, that's why I am talking about it now. And if there's one thing I've learned: every time you are talking about the right things, anytime is the right time,” Sammy explained.
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Sammy has since been wanting to speak to the people involved and understand their intentions behind using the word for him. On Thursday, Sammy sent out a tweet sharing with his Twitter followers that one of the players involved has reached out to him and has had an interesting conversation.
The all-rounder also said that he is looking for ways to educate rather than focussing on the negatives. Calling the concerned player his ‘brother’ Sammy said that he assured him that he operated from a place of love.
I’m please to say that I’ve had a really interesting conversation with one of the guys and we are looking at ways t… https://t.co/qpAfPTmWTS
— Daren Sammy (@darensammy88) 1591891409000In a 4-minute 59-second Instagram video, Sammy had opened up about the incident of him getting racially abused by SunRisers Hyderabad players. He had said ‘you know who you are’, and had urged the people involved to reach out to him.
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Sammy had also urged the ICC to take a strict action and measures to curb racism in cricket, much like the establishment of an anti-corruption task force to curb match fixing.
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