Dwayne Bravo Opens Up On Racism, Says "We Are Powerful And Beautiful"

"We just want equality, we don't want revenge or war, we just want respect," said Dwayne Bravo while talking about racism throughout the world. The debate around racism in sport has kickstarted once again after former Windies T20 World Cup-winning skipper Darren Sammy alleged racism during his stint with SunRisers Hyderabad in the 2014 IPL. During an Instagram live chat with former Zimbabwe pacer Pommie Mbanga, the all-rounder decided to talk about racism. "It is sad to see what is going on around the world. As a black man, we know the history of what black people have been through. We never ask for revenge, we ask for equality and respect. That is it. We give respect to others. Why is it that we are facing this over and over," Bravo said during the interaction with Mbangwa.

"I just want our brothers and sisters to know that we are powerful and beautiful. And at the end of the day, you look at some of the greats of the world, whether it is Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan we have had leaders who paved the way for us," he added.

Bravo also said that people should be respected for what they are and there should be equality in the world.

"Now enough is enough. We just want equality. We don't want revenge, war. We just want respect. We share love and appreciate people for who they are. That's what is most important," Bravo said.

On Tuesday, Sammy had released a video specifying that the racial slurs against him were used within the SunRisers camp.

"I have played all over the world and I have been loved by many people, I have embraced all 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," Sammy said in a video posted on his Instagram account.

"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, I was being called exactly the same word which is degrading to us black people," he added.

Sammy said that at the time when he was being called with the word, he didn't know the meaning, and his team-mates used to laugh every time after calling him by that name.

"I will be messaging those people, you guys know who you are, I must admit at that time when I was being called as that word I thought the word meant strong stallion or whatever it is, I did not know what it meant, every time I was called with that word, there was laughter at that moment, I thought teammates are laughing so it must be something funny," Sammy said.

The former Windies skipper has been a vocal supporter of the protests that are currently going on in the United States over the death of an African-American man named George Floyd.

Sammy had also made an appeal to the ICC and other cricket boards to support the fight against social injustice and racism.

Opening batsman Chris Gayle had also condoled the demise of Floyd and had said that he too has been a victim of racism.

Ever since the demise of Floyd, protests erupted from the demonstrations in cities from San Francisco to Boston.

Topics mentioned in this article

Dwayne Bravo West Indies Cricket Team Cricket