George Floyd death: Top cricketers, Anthony Joshua keep the protests alive
Sachin Tendulkar invokes Nelson Mandela’s words to join the burning issue
Dubai: The outrage over the death of George Floyd continued to simmer in the sporting world over the weekend, with West Indies allrounder Carlos Brathwaite joining his peers like Darren Sammy and Chris Gayle on Sunday.
The giant allrounder, who won the last T20 World Cup for the Caribbeans with his last-over blitz at the Eden Gardens in 2016, posted photos of him at a ‘Black Lives Matter’ march in London. Brathwaite posted pics of the protest march and one alongside English footballer Adebayo Akinfenwa.
“The revolution will be televised. #blacklivesmatter,” he said in a caption to one of his posts.
The protest received yet another endorsement when Sachin Tendulkar, the Indian legend, on Saturday shared former South Africa president Nelson Mandela’s iconic quote on how sport has the power to change the world.
“Nelson Mandela once said, “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to unite the world in a way that little else does.” Wise words,” Tendulkar tweeted.
The 47-year-old little master also shared a video posted by International Cricket Council (ICC) of the moment when England won the 2019 ICC World Cup last year, defeating New Zealand in a thrilling summit clash played at the Lord’s.
In the video, Jofra Archer can be seen delivering the last ball of the tournament on which England won their maiden 50-over men’s World Cup.
The England team was known for its diversity with players of New Zealand, South African and South Asian origins making the bulk of the first team. The captain Eoin Morgan himself is Irish and had said that the team had ‘Allah’ with them.
“We had Allah with us as well. I spoke to Adil (Rashid), he said Allah was definitely with us. I said we had the rub of the green,” Morgan had said in a press conference after the dramatic final.
Elsewhere in Watford, heavyweight boxing world champion Anthony Joshua addressed the march that was held on Saturday. “The virus has been declared a pandemic,” Joshua said. “This is out of control. And I’m not talking about COVID-19. The virus I’m talking about is called racism.”
“We can no longer sit back and remain silent on these senseless, unlawful killings and sly racism on another human being - based on what? Only their skin colour,” the IBF, WBA and WBO world champion said.
“We need to speak out in peaceful demonstrations - just like today, so well done Watford. We must not use a demonstration for selfish motives and turn it into rioting and looting.”