West Indies pace legend Michael Holding feels racism can only be eradicated from the sporting world when the deep-rooted malaise is tackled properly within the society.
Holding's words came amid the ongoing worldwide protest against racism following the killing of an Afro-American man George Floyd by a white policeman in the USA.
Also, just recently, former West Indies skipper Daren Sammy alleged that he was subjected to racist comments during his stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
"You will get racism, people will shout things at cricket grounds, football grounds, wherever, you can't stamp out racism by tackling individual sports, you have to tackle the society," PTI quoted the 66-year-old as saying during an Instagram chat on Sunday (June 7).
"It is the people from the society who go to these grounds and shout racist slogans or racist abuse at people. You have to tackle it from the society itself, not the sport."
"Fine, sports can have their rules and regulations under which you enter the ground, that's just a plaster on the sore. The people in the society have got to understand that it is unacceptable, and when you tackle it in the society itself, it will not spill over in sport," Holding added.
Sammy's ex-teammate Chris Gayle also openly batted for the fight against racism and supported the movement 'Black Lives Matter'.
(Inputs from PTI)
