Former Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara has joined the bandwagon of cricketers in condemning racism, saying it is not just restricted to skin colour and a person could also be racially abused in other ways.
“Skin colour isn’t the only basis of discrimination. There are various ways of racism and discrimination. Some historically and some in a certain context, skin colour isn’t the only basis for discrimination,” Sangakkara said in a chat with Cricbuzz In Conversation.
“If you take Black Lives Matter if you take racism and discrimination in the world, I think one of the most important things is to teach our children history as it should be, and not the sanitised version of it, so you only see the positives,” he added.
Racism has become a topic of global debate following the killing of George Floyd – a 46-year-old African-American, who died on May 25 in Minneapolis after Derek Chauvin, a white policeman, knelt on his neck for several minutes.
Floyd’s death sparked protests across the United States while demonstrations were held in various countries in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Caribbean cricketers like Chris Gayle, Daren Sammy, Carlos Brathwaite among others have been vocal supporters of the BLM campaign and also opened up about racism in the game.
Moreover, legendary fast bowler-turned-commentator Michael Holding recently delivered a moving speech on institutionalised racism that has seen the accomplishments of black people being wiped off from history.
Sangakkara echoed Holding’s words and thus he urged people to educate themselves and open their minds.
“Once you understand what real history is, I think you will find lots of attitude changes. We are all taught to love our country. But sometimes we follow that blindly and that stops us from appreciating other cultures, other countries, other people, other races, other religions,” the batting legend said.
“So educate yourself, open your mind, but more importantly open your eyes, because without that change won’t happen and change isn’t going to be overnight,” he further remarked.
