Former West Indies two-time T20 World Cup-winning captain Darren Sammy has now clarified about his latest accusation about the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) team members for using “degrading” word to address him.
Darren Sammy made his debut in the Indian Premier League (IPL) during 2013 season, representing for the SRH team. While he served for the SRH in 2013 and 2014 seasons, he appeared in 20 games, where he scored 282 runs and also took 11 wickets.
Recently, the 36-year-old Sammy revealed that some SRH members called him and Sri Lankan all-rounder Thisara Perera as “Kalu”. After recently understanding the meaning of that word, the West Indian all-rounder has felt very disrespect, who is very vocal about racism following the murder of George Floyd in the USA.
Recently, Sammy posted an Instagram video to clarify his stance about those incidents during his SRH tenure. Before revealing their names, Sammy wants to talk with them personally to clarify their positions.
Sammy claimed in that video, “Knowledge is power. So recently I discovered a word that I was being called was not what it actually meant, I need some answers. So before I start calling out names I need these individuals to reach out and please tell me there’s another meaning to that word and when I was being called it, it was all in love.”
From 2007 to 2017, Sammy played 38 Tests, 126 ODIs and 68 T20Is. Under his leadership, West Indies won the ICC World T20 2012 and ICC World T20 2016. The Caribbean all-rounder, who has experienced 308 T20s, has participated in many foreign T20 leagues.
Talking more about his experience on the racism matter, Sammy said, “I have played all over the world and I have been loved by many people, I have embraced all the dressing rooms where I have played, so I was listening to Hasan Minhaj as to how some of the people in his culture describe black people.”
After he understands the meaning of the alleged word, Sammy has felt that it was degrading, and he is now very angry.
Sammy added, “This does not apply to all people, so after I found out a meaning of a certain word, I had said I was angry on finding out the meaning and it was degrading, instantly I remembered when I played for Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2013-14, I was being called the exact same word which is degrading to us black people.”
Angry Sammy will now message those teammates who used to call him by that name.
He claimed, “I instantly got very angry about it knowing now what that word meant. I will be messaging those people, you guys know who you are.”
I thought the word meant strong stallion or whatever it is: Darren Sammy
Sammy also admitted that he earlier didn’t know the real meaning of that word. He felt that it was a funny word that could mean strong stallion.
He continued, “I must admit at that time when I was being called that, I didn’t know what it meant, I thought the word meant strong stallion or whatever it is, and I saw no problems because I was ignorant about what it meant. But every time I and Thisara Perera was called with that word, there was laughter at that moment. Me being a team man, I thought teammates are happy, so it must be something funny.”
Sammy further quoted, “Now, I realise that it wasn’t funny. I realise it was degrading, I will be texting you guys and I will ask you ‘when you repeatedly called me over and over again – I was even saying that’s my name – did you all mean it in any bad way or in a degrading way?”
In his IPL career, while Sammy was also a Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) team member between 2015 and 2016, he was also a Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) member in the 2017 season. In overall, Sammy played 22 IPL matches where he scored 295 runs and also took 11 wickets.