Monty Panesar: Ollie Robinson should be allowed to continue playing cricket
3 June 2021, 15:40
Monty Panesar reacts to controversy over past Ollie Robinson tweets
Cricketer Ollie Robinson should be allowed to continue playing the sport having publicly apologised for racist and sexist tweets he posted just under a decade ago as a teenager, ex-England player Monty Panesar has told LBC.
Mr Robinson, who is now 27-years-old, has said he is "embarrassed" and "ashamed" by the tweets.
In a statement, he said: "On the biggest day of my career so far, I am embarrassed by the racist and sexist tweets that I posted over eight years ago, which have today become public.
"I want to make it clear that I'm not racist and I'm not sexist. I deeply regret my actions, and I am ashamed of making such remarks.
"I was thoughtless and irresponsible, and regardless of my state of mind at the time, my actions were inexcusable. Since that period, I have matured as a person and fully regret the tweets."
Ollie Robinson should have to do some kind of community service
Speaking to LBC's Shelagh Fogarty about the situation, Mr Panesar said the public posts in question were "completely unacceptable".
However, he added: "If this was said let's say three months ago, I think definitely ban him, he cannot play this test match and there needs to be some sort of repercussions.
"[But] because this was nine years ago and you can see the difference in him as a human being now and it's something he's apologised [for] publicly, I think he should continue to play."
