Roland Butcher Reckons Cricket Hasn't Really Done Anything To Counter Racism

Roland Butcher, the first-ever black cricketer to play for England, believes that cricket has done enough to counter the rampant racism that runs in the sport, as compared to soccer, which, according to him, has been ‘very proactive’.

The issue of racism once again came into the spotlight last month following the killing of African-American George Flloyd in the United States Of America.

Both England and West Indies cricketers will be wearing the ‘Black Lives Matter’ logo on their kits in the upcoming #raisethebat Test series while the Windies players will be taking a knee, which Carlos Brathwaite has reckoned, will not be enough to counter the deeply rampant racism.

“I must say football is a lot better now than it used to be. Football has done a lot to clean up its act,” Roland Butcher told Timesofindia.com in an interview.

“They have been very proactive. For a number of years, cricket has not been. I think cricket has sat silently back and really said nothing. I think generally, it is less tolerated in football than it is in cricket,” he added.

Also Read: Jason Holder Reckons West Indies Players Considering Taking A Knee To Extend Their Support For Black Lives Matter Campaign

‘I know some other people were really abused and caught all sorts of things’- Roland Butcher

Roland Butcher made his England debut during a One-day International in 1980 went on to add five more international caps [2 ODIs + 3 Tests] before getting dropped.

Asked if he encountered instances of racial slurs during his career, the 66-year-old said-

“People never abused me directly. I’m not saying that there wasn’t any racism. Obviously, people may have said things that you didn’t hear, etc. etc,” Roland Butcher said.

“I did not encounter the sort of racism that some other people did. I know some other people were really abused and caught all sorts of things.” he added.

When asked about the ways to uproot racism from the game and how difficult it is, Butcher said that clubs will have to take the lead from the grassroot level.

“It is difficult, but as I say if the clubs can really set the agenda and have a policy of not tolerating any form of racism. They have to show the way. They have to come forward and make this policy that they will select any player regardless of what colour he is,” Roland Butcher said.

“They have to also say that they will select a coach on the basis of his talent regardless of his colour whether he’s black, blue or green. We will select any manager, we will select any board members. The clubs have to show that first. They should have the policy within their club that we will not tolerate racism,” he explained.

*If that happens, it will be controlled to a degree. But if you look around cricket, especially first-class cricket, you don’t see the blacks on the boards. You don’t see the managers, you don’t see the coaches. It is hard to remove racism from the sport,” he added.

Also Read: West Indies Cricketers To Wear ‘Black Lives Matter’ Logo During The Test Series Against England