England cricketer addresses resurfaced tweet mocking teammate’s ‘lesbian’ haircut
James Anderson at the 3rd Investec Test Match between England and the West Indies in 2017. (Dan Mullan/Getty)
English cricketer James Anderson has deleted an anti-lesbian tweet he wrote 10 years ago, following the suspension of his teammate Ollie Robinson for sexist, racist posts.
The tweet, written in 2010 when Anderson was 27, mocked a fellow cricketer’s hairstyle by comparing him to a “a 15 year old lesbian“.
Anderson quickly deleted it after it began circulating online, insisting he’s now “a changed person”.
“The historical stuff, for me, it was 10, 11 years ago. I have certainly changed as a person since then. That’s the difficulty; things do change and you do make mistakes,” he told Sky News.
His admission came as English cricket faces a reckoning following the discovery of numerous racist and sexist tweets from English bowler Ollie Robinson, posted in 2012 and 2013.
Anderson stressed the need to educate cricketers so that “young and inexperienced” players don’t post offensive material online.
“It is something we are definitely going to have to look at. But if we educate well enough, that language and those tweets do not go out in the first place,” he said.
Robinson apologised “unreservedly” for the tweets which were unearthed last Wednesday (2 June), saying he was “embarrassed” and “ashamed” by his past comments.
“On the biggest day of my career so far, I am embarrassed by the racist and sexist tweets that I posted over eight years ago, which have today become public,” Robinson said. “I want to make it clear that I’m not racist and I’m not sexist.”
Like James Anderson, he claimed that he has now “matured as a person” and fully regrets his past comments.
After Robinson’s suspension, tweets from England’s limited-overs skipper Eoin Morgan and wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler also came under scrutiny.
The offensive tweets in which the duo allegedly poke fun at Indian fans are currently under investigation by England Cricket Board (ECB).
“Since we were alerted to [Robinson’s] offensive tweets last week, a number of historical social media posts by other individuals have been questioned publicly as well,” an ECB spokesperson said on Tuesday.
“There is no place for discrimination in our sport, and we are committed to taking relevant and appropriate action where required.”
Another unnamed cricketer is also reportedly under investigation, although his identity has not been revealed as he was under 16 at the time of his tweets.
