Racism should be treated the way doping is: Jason Holder
Jason Holder became the latest cricketer to have voiced opinion on the racism row. The West Indies cricket team's skipper believes racism should be treated in the same manner as match-fixing and doping are. In a conversation with BBC Sport, Holder said stern measures should be taken to eradicate racism from the sport. Here is what he said.
'Racism should be dealt with similar penalties'
"I don't think the penalty for doping or corruption should be any different for racism. If we've got issues within our sport, we must deal with them equally. My message is more education needs to go around it," Holder told BBC Sport.
Racial remarks in international cricket
Several on-field racist slurs have grabbed eyeballs of late. West Indies' Shannon Gabriel was penalized by the ICC for his homophobic remarks on England skipper Joe Root, in 2019. Later that year, former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed was banned for four games after directing a racist remark at Andile Phehlukwayo. England's Jofra Archer has also received racial slurs from crowd lately.
ICC's Anti-Racism policy
Under the International Cricket Council's Anti-Racism policy, a first offence usually hands a player four to eight suspensions points. Meanwhile, two suspension points equate to a ban for one Test or two One-Day internationals or two T20 International matches.
The first Test begins on July 8 at Ages Bowl
England are all set to host West Indies for a three-match Test series, starting July 8. The first Test will be played at the Ages Bowl, while Emirates Old Trafford will host the final two Tests. Besides, Holder feels each international series should be preceded by anti-racism briefings, so that every player is well aware of the roles and responsibilities.
The message needs to be loud and clear: Holder
Holder vouches for an anti-racism feature ahead of the forthcoming series. "In addition to having anti-doping briefings and anti-corruption briefings, maybe we should have an anti-racism feature before we start a series," he added. "I've not experience any racial abuse first hand but have heard or seen a few things around it. It's something you just can't stand for."
