(Reuters) – Somerset County Cricket Club reprimanded Jack Brooks on Thursday over the fast bowler’s historical posts on social media which contained racist language and described his comments as “unacceptable”.
Somerset investigated two tweets sent in 2012, when Brooks played for Northamptonshire, as well as claims that he used the name “Steve” to refer to Cheteshwar Pujara when the Indian batsman was at Yorkshire.
The club said in a statement that Brooks, 37, was “embarrassed and devastated that his comments offended people” and that he would participate in training on diversity and inclusion.
“He has acknowledged that, whilst they were made nearly a decade ago when he was less mature, the content of the posts was wrong and not in accordance with his personal values,” the statement added.
“Jack has engaged honestly and openly throughout the investigation and unreservedly apologises for his past errors.
“The club has decided to reprimand Jack, remind him of his responsibilities and require him to participate in extensive training on equality, diversity and inclusivity.”
Brooks was one of a number of players in former Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq’s testimony to the parliamentary Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) panel earlier this week regarding racism at the club.
“I acknowledge that the language used in two tweets I made in 2012 was unacceptable and I deeply regret using it. I unreservedly apologise for any offence cause to anybody who may have seen these tweets,” Brooks said in a statement.
“With reference to my naming in Rafiq’s statement to MPs this week, the use of the name ‘Steve’ related to some people having difficult names to pronounce.
“When this has occurred in the past in a dressing room environment, it has been commonplace to give nicknames, regardless of creed or race.
“I admit to having used it in this context and now accept that it was disrespectful and wrong to do so. I have reached out and apologised to Cheteshwar for any offence that I have caused him or his family.”
(Reporting by Hritika Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Shrivathsa Sridhar)
