Ollie Robinson apologizes for his comments as old tweets resurface
Ollie Robinson was the pick of England's bowlers on Day 1 of the opening Test against New Zealand. He scalped two wickets and gave away 50 runs throughout the day. However, the 27-year-old is now under the scanner as his old tweets, both racist and sexist in nature, have resurfaced across social media. Notably, Robinson has sought an apology for the same.
'Deeply regret my actions', says Robinson
"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 in a statement. "I want to make it clear that I'm not racist and I'm not sexist. I deeply regret my actions, and I am ashamed of making such remarks."
A look at full statement of Robinson
Robinson's tweets resurfaced as he made his Test debut
The tweets of Robinson resurfaced on the same day of his Test debut. Incidentally, he and his English teammates sported black 'anti-discrimination' jerseys before the start of the New Zealand Test at Lord's. Besides, Robinson had been involved in several controversies in past. He even had his Yorkshire contract terminated in 2014 due to a "number of unprofessional actions".
Jason Gillespie had slammed Robinson in 2014
When Robinson's Yorkshire contract was terminated, the club's coach at the time, Jason Gillespie, had said, "When a player consistently displays unprofessional behavior, there has to be a point when you say, 'look, this isn't really working, you're obviously not bothered about playing for the club'." His current club, Sussex are "beyond disappointed to read these tweets" and find "their content wholly unacceptable".
ECB to initiate investigation as part of disciplinary process
Tom Harrison, the ECB chief, said, "I don't have the words to express how disappointed I am that an England player has chosen to write tweets of this nature, however long ago that might have been." "We have a zero-tolerance stance to any form of discrimination and there are rules in place. We will initiate a full investigation as part of our disciplinary process."
A proficient fast bowler in English conditions
As far as his on-field performance is concerned, Robinson has emerged as a proficient fast bowler. The tall English seamer has snapped up 279 wickets from 63 First-class matches at an incredible average of 21.04. He also has 16 five-fors and five 10-wicket hauls. Robinson has scalped 188 FC wickets since the start of 2018, more than any other England seamer.
