Darren Sammy stood with Makhaya Ntini who opened up about his treatment in the team and how racist the South African board was at that time.
“I was forever lonely at the time. Nobody knocked on my door to go for dinner. Teammates used to make plans right in front of me, skipping me out. When walking into the breakfast room, nobody came to sit with me. We wear the same uniform and sing the same national anthem, but I had to overcome (the isolation),” Ntini told South African Broadcasting Corporation.
Several cricketers came in support of Ntini and the players also took a knee during the 3TC Solidarity Cup. Ntini was a part of commentary team during that tournament.
Sammy, who has been quite vocal about the Black Lives Matter movement, took to Twitter and lashed out at former SA cricketers. “Yow this is sad and here I was wanting to be as fit as Makhaya Ntini not knowing the reason for all this running to and from stadiums. Literally running away from loneliness. Shame on his teammates. You will always be a hero to us,” he wrote.
Sammy was one of the first cricketers to call out on racism in cricket. He released a video talking about how his Sunrisers Hyderabad teammates used to calm him “Kalu” and he didn’t understand the meaning back then. He wanted the players to apologize as well.
Later, many cricketers began to open up their experiences with racism. In South Africa, it was Lungi Ngidi who asked the board to take a stand on the same.
Read: https://penbugs.com/i-was-forever-lonely-makhaya-ntini-on-racism-in-south-africa-cricket/
Everything began with the murder of George Floyd by the police because of racism. The movement “Black Lives Mater” gained momentum all over the world.
ENG v WI: Holding’s inspiring speech about racism