Sydney: Australian spinner, Brad Hogg has said that punishing Ollie Robinson for his "racist" and "sexist" tweets was "extremely harsh". England bowler Ollie Robinson has been suspended from all international cricket, pending a disciplinary investigation, after 'racist and sexist' tweets posted by him in 2012 and 2013 resurfaced on the day he made his Test debut.
Brad Hogg, in a tweet said, "Punishing a guy for regrettable naive tweets from 10 years ago at the age of 18 is extremely harsh on Ollie Robinson. He has had his troubles. His debut should be a celebration of how he has turned his life around in the last 5 years. People change and grow. #ENGvNZ #Cricket"
Ollie Robinson's tweets went viral on social media ad did not sit well with some Netizens who called Ollie, a 'racist' and 'sexist'. "On the biggest day of my career so far, I am embarrassed by the racist and sexist tweets that I posted over eight years ago, which have today become public," Robinson said in the statement. "I want to make it clear that I'm not racist and I'm not sexist."
"I deeply regret my actions, and I am ashamed of making such remarks. I would like to unreservedly apologise to anyone I have offended, my teammates and the game as a whole in what has been a day of action and awareness in combatting discrimination from our sport. I just want to apologize to everyone. I regret it hugely," he added.
This incident with Robinson has sparked an ongoing discussion on racism in sport yet again.
Football organizations around the world are showing solidarity with players of color and even in cricket, anti-racism voices are heard.