British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants ECB to reconsider suspension of Ollie Robinson.
Former England cricketer Mark Ramprakash doesn't like British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's intervention into the Ollie Robinson controversy. Johnson’s spokesperson on Monday (June 7) said the PM is “supportive” of the culture secretary’s view that England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) should reconsider the suspension of Robinson for posting racist and sexist tweets back in 2012 and 2013.
Asked on the BBC Breakfast show about his view, Ramprakash said: “I think it is very unwelcome. He himself has used racist language, against Muslim people, against black people. He is trying to bear undue influence in this case. If I was Ollie Robinson I’m not sure I’d want Boris Johnson involved and trying to support me.”
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Ramprakash, who played 52 Tests for England, feels the dressing room would be toxic with the presence of Robinson at the same time as cricketers like Moeen Ali or Jofra Archer are part of it.
“I’ve heard people express sort of sympathy with Ollie Robinson, and say ‘hasn’t he shown a lot of character?’, but I haven’t heard enough about the victims or the people that these tweets are aimed at,” he said.
“How do they feel? Where is the sympathy for those people? They are UK citizens, a lot of them. We live in a diverse society and we really don’t want this behavior,” he added.
Robinson was suspended from international cricket by ECB, pending an investigation into the tweets he posted as a teenager years ago. He will not be available for the second Test against New Zealand, which begins at Edgbaston on Thursday (June 10).
(With BBC Breakfast Inputs)