England cricket team latest to publicly distance themselves from Black Lives Matter group after controversy
ENGLAND’S cricket team have distanced themselves from the Black Lives Matter movement following recent controversy.
The players will wear the logo on their shirts during the upcoming three-match Test Series against West Indies.
But the England and Wales Cricket Board have made it clear they reject any politicising of the movement.
ECB Chief Executive Officer Tom Harrison said: “The England and Wales Cricket board fully support the message that Black Lives Matter.
“It has become a message of solidarity and a drive for progress and societal change.
“There can be no place for racism in society or our sport, and we must do more to tackle it.
“Our support of that message is not an endorsement, tacit or otherwise, of any political organisation, nor backing of any group that calls for violence or condones illegal activity.
“We are aware of certain aspects of the movement that promote their own political views, and their actions are not supported in any way by the ECB and our players.”
'SPREADING HATE'
This week BLM was accused of “spreading hate” after pledging support for Palestine amid Israel’s plans to annex the West Bank.
The UK arm of the movement put out a series of messages on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on its Twitter account.
But Jewish groups and human rights campaigners said the anti-racism group’s tweets were “failings”.
BLM’s comments come as Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, plans to annex Jewish settlements within Palestinian occupied West Bank – forbidden in international law.
The BLM UK account wrote: “As Israel moves forward with the annexation of the West Bank, and mainstream British politics is gagged of the right to critique Zionism, and Israel’s settler colonial pursuits, we loudly and clearly stand beside our Palestinian comrades. FREE PALESTINE.”
Sky Sports pundits Jamie Redknapp and Patrice Evra recently ditched their BLM badges for a live broadcast.
And the BBC have reportedly told presenters not to wear the badge as it can be seen as a political campaign.
Crystal Palace have also become the first Premier League to distance themselves from the movement.
This comes after BLM leaders posted their beliefs in defunding the police, ovethrowing capitalism and “targeted sanctions in line with international law against Israel’s colonial, apartheid regime.”
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England Men’s Test captain Joe Root added: “It is important to show solidarity to the black community and to raise much needed awareness around the topics of equality and justice.
“The England players and management are unified in their approach and will use the platform of international cricket to fully support the objective of eradicating racial prejudice wherever it exists.’