The incident involving the death of a black American George Floyd has sparked a world of storm all over the globe. If celebrities in America were joining the protests over his death, those living outside now seem to be joining.
Celebrated West Indies star Chris Gayle, himself a black man, has taken to social media and wrote that there was racism in the sport of cricket too and not just in the sport of football, adding to the complaints coming out of the widesporead protests in the US that it was rampant in the US society and the sport of football was by no means immune from it.
Giving vent to his feelings in the backdrop of those ongoing and escalating protests in the US after an African-American man, George Floyd, died after a police officer pressed down his knee on George’s neck for far too long, Chris wrote:
“Black lives matter just like any other life. Black people matter, p***k all racist people, stop taking black people for fools, even our own black people wise the p***k up and stop bringing down your own! I have travelled the globe and experience racial remarks towards me because I am black, believe me, the list goes on,” Gayle wrote in his Instagram story.
“Racism is not only in football, it’s in cricket too. Even within teams as a black man, I get the end of the stick. Black and powerful. Black and proud,” he added.
Floyd died on May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, pressed his knee down on Floyd’s neck for far too long while three more police officers held Floyd pinning him down on the ground.
Firing all four officers involved in the incident, after initial investigations authorities had cleared the officer(s) saying there was not enough evidence to file any criminal charges against the police involved. It only escalated the rioting and violence on the streets extremely infuriating the protestors – merely widening the protests to go America wide.
Sensing the mood, the authorities have had a change of heart and Derek Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Riots have since become more widespread in the US and people are demanding the other three officers to be charged as well as the charges against Derek Chauvin to be upgraded.
Some journalists have put the situation in America akin to civil war. There will be more celebrities joining the voices of people like Chris Gayle, should the situation in America not improve significantly, very quickly.