Senior England star James Anderson says their players feel anxious about historical tweets after rookie test bowler Ollie Robinson was suspended for discriminatory posts he made as a teenager on Twitter from 2012-13.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Wednesday said it was investigating more social media posts which have been questioned publicly after tweets by Anderson, Jos Buttler and England one-day international captain Eoin Morgan surfaced online.
The ECB is also investigating claims that an England player, who was 15 at the time, posted historic offensive material.
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James Anderson said England’s players were anxious about their social media history.
Robinsons tweets surfaced on the opening day of his test debut for England against the Black Caps at Lords last Wednesday.
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Ahead of the second test at Edgbaston on Thursday, Anderson said there was heightened anxiety among Englands players about their social media history.
I guess we do feel anxious, the 38-year-old fast bowler said on Tuesday (Wednesday NZ time).
If there are any tweets from years ago we do have to look at that and again learn from this and try to be better in the future, try to make sure we know its unacceptable to use these sorts of phrases and language.
It is a difficult time. As players we are trying to learn from this. We realise its important to try to get educated around these issues, which we continue to do with the ECB and the PCA [Professional Cricketers Association]. We had already been doing workshops before this series, basically to improve ourselves as people.
It doesnt matter how old you are, you can never know too much. Its really important we keep doing this, keep buying into this, because its hugely important to make our game as inclusive as possible.
After Anderson’s press conference, an ECB spokesperson said: Since we were alerted to offensive tweets last week, a number of historical social media posts by other individuals have been questioned publicly as well.
There is no place for discrimination in our sport, and we are committed to taking relevant and appropriate action where required.
Historical tweets return to haunt rookie fast bowler in test against NZ at Lord’s.
Given the concerns which have been raised are clearly now broader than a single case, the ECB board will discuss how we deal with issues over historical social media material in a timely and appropriate manner. Each case will be considered on an individual basis, looking at all the facts. We will assess cases with the ECB board before making further statements.
Anderson, who would become Englands most capped test player on 162 tests if he takes the field in the second test against the Black Caps, said Robinson had the full support of Englands players.
You could see how sincere he was and how upset he was when he stood up in front of the group and apologised, Anderson said.
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Ollie Robinson wont feature in the second test between England and the Black Caps.
As a group we appreciate hes a different person now. Hes done a lot of maturing and growing since then and hes got the full support of the team.
I remember being that age and you do make mistakes youre very young and inexperienced. There was initial shock with the language that was used, but there was remorse. Hes definitely changed as a person and hes definitely going to improve from this as well. Hes going to learn from these mistakes. Its just a case of trying to make sure that we send a message that even at that age this is unacceptable language to use.
Robinson, 27, wont play in the second test after taking seven wickets and scoring 42 runs in Englands first innings in the first match of the two-test series with the Black Caps. He was suspended hours after the first test finished as a draw.
The fallout from his suspension by the ECB, while there is an investigation into the racist and sexist tweets he posted as a teenager, has led to the British Government calling the ban over the top.
The UK’s Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, said the ECB should think again after Robinson’s ban, a stance that was supported by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Former England cricketers Mark Ramprakash and Michael Carberry criticised that response. Ramprakash said it was unwelcome and Carberry said he had no respect for Dowdens comments.
