COURTESY BY: https://www.cricingif.com/
Cricket Australia has vehemently slammed internet trolls as “uneducated” after senior all-rounder Dan Christian was subjected to online attacks for speaking up about “casual racism”.
Christian, who plays for Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League, is one of the only six indigenous people to don the Australian jersey at international level.
He recently was part of a panel discussion where he recounted first-hand experiences of racist remarks as an Aboriginal cricketer.
“I don’t think it’s as in-your-face as you might see elsewhere around the world or even elsewhere in Australian culture, but it’s definitely there,” the 37-year-old stated. “It’s more of casual racism.”
Christian’s comments drew backlash from a couple of Twitter users, who raised questions over his Aboriginality based on his appearance.
“How can someone who looks white be discriminated against?” one person asked.
CA responded to such statements with regret and said they were “deeply disappointed to see blatantly racist and uneducated comments”.
“Whilst we have chosen not to name the publisher of these comments publicly, we want to strongly reinforce that any form of racism or discrimination has no place in cricket, sport or wider society,” it added. “Comments like these demonstrate just how far we still have to go.”
Christian made his debut for Australia back in 2010 and has played a total of 19 ODIs and 16 T20Is with his last appearance in the national side coming three years ago.
Detailing the unfortunate incidents depicting a racist attitude from contemporaries, Christian said these instances focused on his skin colour. He also bemoaned the lack of cross-cultural awareness programmes from any cricket organisation.
“Little throwaway lines here and there that are made to be jokes. And a lot of that, for me personally, has been around the colour of my skin and the fact I don’t look Aboriginal, whatever that means. That’s the most noticeable thing for me.”
“That’s one thing we could at least do to raise some awareness and educate people within our sport,” he added.
