On Monday, Sammy posted a five-minute video in which he opened up how at IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) he faced a racist remark.
Former West Indies captain Darren Sammy's allegation on racism by his teammates took a new turn after Ishant Sharma's 2014 posts surfaced. Last week, he took to his Instagram story to reveal on the racial slur that he and Sri Lanka's Thisara Perera was receiving during the Indian Premier League ( IPL) while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad.
His statement came after a reaction to an episode of the show "The Patriot Act" hosted by Indian-American comedian Hasan Minhaj which spoke about racism in Indian households.
On Monday, Sammy posted a five-minute video in which he opened up how at IPL franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) he faced a racist remark.
In the video, Sammy called out the offenders who used the word saying "you guys know who you are" and that he will be messaging them personally and talk about it.
"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- 'hey, teammates are happy. It must be something funny'. Now, you could understand my frustration and anger when it was pointed out that it wasn't funny at all. It was degrading," 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 disappointed," he added.
Hours after Sammy's video, a post from Ishant Sharma began to gain traction in which SRH's 2014 side players-Ishant, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Darren Sammy and Dale Steyn could be seen posing for the camera.
The picture posted on May 14, 2014, captioned: "Me, bhuvi, kaluu and gun sunrisers"
The image has gone viral with cricket fans lambasting Ishant Sharma for his casual racism towards his former teammate.
Another tweet has come to light, where it seemed that even the SRH coaching staff have known about the racist nickname Sammy was called. A tweet by the former captain of West Indies, wishing batting mentor VVS Laxman on his birthday had the word 'kalu' in it as well.
Happy birthday @VVSLaxman281 May God continue to bless you. #bestdresser oh remember dark kalu.
— Daren Sammy (@darensammy88) November 1, 2014
Many argue as to how Sammy was never corrected on the word, and they let him believe that it was nothing 'degrading'.
The video posted by Sammy on his Instagram came about a week after he posted a story, writing that while playing for the SRH he was addressed with the word 'Kalu,' adding that he misinterpreted the meaning of the word to be a 'stallion'.
Sammy also said that he deserves an apology from all those people who called him with that word. "I've always been one to build up the team - not bring it down. All those who called me that, you guys know yourself. Some of you have my numbers, my Instagram and Twitter. Let's have a conversation. If it was in the way Minhaj meant, I am disappointed. I'm angry and I deserve an apology. Talk to me, reach out to me," said Sammy in the video.
The former West Indies skipper, who is the only two-time T20 World Cup-winning captain, has been a vocal supporter of the protests currently taking place in the United States following the death of George Floyd, an African-American who last month died after a white police officer put his knee on Floyd's neck, even as he repeatedly said, "I can't breathe."
Sammy also appealed to the ICC and other cricket boards to help fight social injustice and racism.
. @ICC and all the other boards are you guys not seeing what’s happening to ppl like me? Are you not gonna speak against the social injustice against my kind. This is not only about America. This happens everyday #BlackLivesMatter now is not the time to be silent. I wanna hear u
— Daren Sammy (@darensammy88) June 2, 2020