Racism against Jofra Archer made me think if I’d turned blind eye, admits James Anderson
James Anderson has recalled the incident wherein Jofra Archer had to face racial abuse from the crowd and the former admitted that it made him think if he had turned a blind eye to it. Anderson wasn’t a part of the New Zealand tour last year when the aforementioned incident had taken place.
In light of the Black Lives Matter protests, former England cricketer Michael Carberry, on the Cricket Badger podcast, pointed out that cricket is replete with racism. He also stressed on the structure of English cricket wherein Black people aren’t as important. In this regard, veteran pacer James Anderson has spoken up and shared his opinion. Anderson added that the last few weeks had been "thought-provoking" and confirmed the England squad would discuss whether they wanted to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement during the home series against West Indies in July.
"That's just not okay. As a game we need to actively make this game for everyone. It can't keep going the way it is. It's just not okay. Absolutely I expect that to be a conversation we have. It's made me do a lot of thinking. We will have conversations about what we can do as players to make a stand, definitely," Anderson was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
On Thursday, The Daily Mirror reported that the 'Rooney Rule' - which states that at least one black or ethnic minority person must be interviewed when an organisation recruits for a job - will be spread out across the 18 first-class counties. It already applies to senior coaching jobs at the ECB but Anderson believes that there is so much more to do and the cricketers have a role to play in making the change. In this light, Anderson recalled the incident involving Jofra Archer in New Zealand, last year, when a man from the crowd had racially abused the pacer. While Anderson wasn’t a part of the tour, it still made him reflect on the issues and think if he had turned blind eye to these huge issues.
"It's something as players and a game we need to be more active. It's made me think, have I experienced racism on a cricket field? I couldn't remember any instances. I wasn't in New Zealand when Jofra was racially abused. It made me think and it made me think have I turned a blind eye to things? I'd try to support my team-mates if they did suffer any sort of abuse but have I been active in supporting them?" Anderson added.