'You guys know who you are': Darren Sammy demands former Sunrisers Hyderabad teammates to clear stand on using racist jibe

Former West Indies skipper Darren Sammy has released a video, alleging racism within the Sunrisers Hyderabad camp and asking the people, who called him by a racist word, to come out and explain their position. It was last week that Sammy expressed anger over being called ‘kalu’ during the Indian Premier League team’s camp after learning that the term has been used as a derogatory jibe towards people with dark skin tone in Indian households. [caption id=“attachment_8464061” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Darren Sammy during his time with Sunrisers Hyderabad. Image: Sportzpics for BCCI[/caption] The former Windies T20 World Cup-winning skipper had said that he along with Sri Lanka player Thisara Perera were subjected to ‘kalu’ chants when they played for Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, at that time, the player did not specify as to who used to direct these slurs at him. Now, the player has released a video, saying he will message all those who called him with such abuse and ask for an explanation. “I have played all over the world and I have been loved by many people, I have embraced all dressing rooms where I have played, so I was listening to Hasan Minhaj as to how some of the people in his culture describe black people,” Sammy said in a video posted on his Instagram account. “This does not apply to all people, so after I found out a meaning of a certain word, I had said I was angry on finding out the meaning and it was degrading, instantly I remembered when I played for Sunrisers Hyderabad, I was being called exactly the same word which is degrading to us black people,” he added. Sammy said that at the time when he was being called with the word, he didn’t know the meaning, and his team-mates used to laugh every time after calling him by that name. “I will be messaging those people, you guys know who you are, I must admit at that time when I was being called as that word I thought the word meant strong stallion or whatever it is, I did not know what it meant, every time I was called with that word, there was laughter at that moment, I thought teammates are laughing so it must be something funny,” Sammy said. “Now, I realise it was degrading, I will be texting you guys and I will ask you as to when you called me with that name, did you all mean it in any bad way or form? I have had great memories in all my dressing rooms, so all those who used to you call me with that word, think about it, let’s have a conversation, if it was in a bad way then I would be really disappointed,” he added.

The former Windies skipper has been a vocal supporter of the protests that are currently going on in the United States over the death of an African-American man named George Floyd. Sammy had also made an appeal to the ICC and other cricket boards to support the fight against social injustice and racism. With inputs from ANI