XPost: uk.sport.cricket, aus.sport.cricket
https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/michael-holding-west-indies-cricket-racism-t20-7378608/
Michael Holding: ‘All people of colour who hit out at racism, their
careers ended in no time’
Part of the fearsome West Indies quartet from the 70s and 80s, Holding
is still rated as the smoothest and sharpest pacer the game has seen.
Now a commentator, Holding rarely pulls his punches, whether on T20 or
bad umpiring.
Legendary West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding talks about “institutionalised and systemic” racism in sports, insists T20 is “not even cricket”, says the Indian team has vastly improved its fitness
levels and explains how Virat Kohli is similar to Viv Richards. The
session was moderated by Deputy Associate Editor Sriram Veera.
SRIRAM VEERA: The book is an enlightening, heart-wrenching, occasionally emotionally difficult read when you delve into the history of racism.
You hadn’t spoken out a lot on this issue before last year. Why was that?
MICHAEL HOLDING: Because I don’t live it. I had taken a selfish view
that this is a thing I experience just for a few months when I am away
from home. When I go back home, I don’t live that experience. So I just
go back home, I am happy and I am content to be where I am. If you look
at history, it will show you that… in the long run, it was a wise thing
to do. Because if you look at all the Black people and the people of
colour that have hit out against racism and made a stand, their careers
ended in no time at all. Look at (American footballer) Colin Kaepernick.
He is a man who in recent times took that stand. His career came to an
end immediately. That shows you when Black people and the people of
colour decide that they are being victimised and they want to talk about
it, they want to complain about it, they want to protest about it, the
system, the institutionalised racism that is evident around the world,
locks you out. And you basically are dispelled from society. Perhaps
that would have happened to me if I said anything earlier.
SRIRAM VEERA: All of us heard your emotional speech on Sky Sports on
Black Lives Matter movement last year. What made you go ahead and write
this book?
MICHAEL HOLDING: If my boss at Sky hadn’t given me the opportunity, even
now no one would have known what I thought about the situation. I
wouldn’t have written the book. But these feelings have been inside of
me for many, many years. I have travelled the world. I have experienced
and seen discrimination and racism in different parts of the world. But
because I live in Jamaica and I hadn’t ever come across anything like
that where I live, I used to brush it off and say, no that’s their
problem. But given the opportunity by Sky, I spoke about it and spoke
about it deeply because I knew all about the history of racism in the
world. I only wrote the book at the end because after speaking on Sky,
so many people got in touch and implored me to go further on what I said
on Sky. And after much prompting, I decided yes, let’s go ahead and do
this book.
Read: I don’t think I would be alive if I grew up in UK: Michael Holding
All the first people (who) had called me before I even thought about
doing the book was Thierry Henry. He saw me on Sky News and called me
after that and we had a good, long discussion. Then of course when I
decided to do the book, I got back to him and he was happy to be
involved. And so many people around the world said and the messages I
have got, so I thought let me go ahead with this book.
SRIRAM VEERA: You have written white people fear black people. Why do
you think that is the case? And it’s a deeply researched book where you
go into racism history in great detail.
MICHAEL HOLDING: It’s quite evident you see it in everyday life and
again, I am not blaming people for this attitude that they have. You
walk down a street in a place with white people and they see a black
person coming, they try to move out of the way. Not so much in
multiracial society but certain places that you go. Because that is what
is in your head. That’s what they have been taught for decades, that
black people are violent. Black people are criminals. That is the just
the way they are brought up. I am blaming the institutionalised and
systemic racism that puts those things in their head.
Michael Holding.
I did research because I wanted the book to be a teaching tool. I want
this to be a process of education for people who will read this book. It
would have been easy for me to fill a book with stars and their
experiences and the racism that they have experienced. But that doesn’t
teach anyone anything. All that would have been a collection of stories.
They already know those stories. The reason that those great athletes,
those great names are in the book is to show people, it doesn’t matter
which background you are from… It doesn’t matter how famous you are. It doesn’t matter how rich you are. Once your skin is dark, you suffer victimisation, you suffer racism. That is the reason those people are in
the book. I want people to be educated by this book. That is why I have
gone into history to show people how racism started. Why it started? And
why people want it to continue. They don’t want equal justice for
everyone. Basically, they want this system to continue. And when I say
they, again I am not talking about individuals. I am talking about the institutions and the way they are set up.
Two people will go to school, a black and a white kid will go to school…
In many countries, in England, in Australia… Both of them will have the
same academic achievements, but when they leave school, their path would
be different depending on the colour of their skin and that is what I am talking about. They go to school and they are the best of buddies. But
when they leave school, one goes left and one goes right and that is not
their fault. That’s the way the system is set up. And that is what I
want people to be educated about so that they can put pressure on people
who make policy, so that we can have a change in those things.
SRIRAM VEERA: In your book you write about a beautiful incident with
your mum; a black kid and a white kid are playing. You wrote about what
your mum said and looking back, what do you think about what she said?
MICHAEL HOLDING: They were two girls… She (mum) woke me up, because she
got up early and she saw the two kids in the backyard and she said,
‘Mikey, Mikey come here’ in an excited manner. And when I got to the
window and I looked down and saw the two kids, I just said, ‘look at
that, we have a chance’. That was obviously on our mind. Because she
went through that when she was young; when she married my father, she
went through all that. So it’s definitely something that’s been playing
on our mind over decades and decades. Because I was the last child born.
I am 13 years after my mother’s first child. For so long these things
are on our mind and she sees the two kids and she thinks to herself that
things are improving; a black and a white kid are there in a yard
playing together. But as I said in the book, she didn’t take into consideration the institutionalised and systemic racism that would
separate them when they stop being kids. And that’s what we are hoping
for, to make sure that these kids can go to the same world, the same
society, get the same opportunities and achieve the same.
SRIRAM VEERA: Was it during your first tour of England in 1976 that you realised what West Indians winning in cricket meant for the West Indian diasporas away from home?
MICHAEL HOLDING: That was my second (overseas) tour. I went to Australia
in 1975-76 and I went to England in 1976. And of course in Australia, we didn’t come across a lot of West Indians. In England, it was the first
time I was coming across a lot of West Indians living outside the West
Indies and realising how important it was for them if their team did
well. But in 1976, I still didn’t grasp it that much. I didn’t grasp it, understand it and recognise it as much as when I started going back to
England regularly in the 1980s. When I would live with these guys, I
would mix with them, I would interact a lot. I would go places and would
how things operate with these people, then I got to understand totally,
what they were going through. They were treated as second class or
possibly third-class citizens especially here in England. Sometimes I
would look at some of these guys and say ‘man I could never live in this country, I am so glad I am going home in September’. They wanted people
to recognise that they had as many rights as anyone else. If their team
could beat the English team that lifted them. They walked proudly on the streets… ‘I am from where these guys are from, we beat you at cricket. I
am just as good as anyone else.’ That is how they wanted to feel.
MIHIR VASAVADA: Do you think the sports ecosystem is largely white — not
the players but the administration, lawmakers, coaches, broadcasters, journalists. Everyone is white and white male at that.
MICHAEL HOLDING: Racism is institutionalised and systemic. That’s what
we are trying to get rid of. Thierry Henry talks about how many Black
players have never been able to become football coaches. We must get rid
of institutionalised racism to achieve that.
TUSHAR BHADURI: Did some people think that bowling fast and the brand of cricket that your West Indies team played at that time wasn’t cerebral enough. Was there some subtle racism?
MICHAEL HOLDING: You could say there might have been some racist slant.
But again, I would say those people were in a minority. Certain
journalists who had certain amount of power and wrote for certain
powerful newspapers would try to decry and degrade some of what we were
doing. And of course people who were not really thinking for themselves
and also want to find a reason to say that we were not as good will
follow those journalists. But at the same time, we didn’t care. We went
there to win. There is no way anyone could say we were playing outside
of the laws of the game or outside of the spirit of the game. We played
cricket to win and we wanted to beat everyone.
And later on, other teams tried to adapt the same tactic which we
adopted. When we started off with four fast bowlers, one of the first
cries was, ‘oh it is not a balanced team’. We were winning, we were not interested in ‘balance’, we were interested in winning Test matches. In 2005, when England selected four fast bowlers and won the Ashes, they
didn’t say they didn’t have a ‘balanced team’. When (Steve) Harmison hit
Ricky Ponting on his face at Lord’s and brought blood, people in the
stands were cheering. When we did it, it was boos and we were criminals.
But when they do it, it is fine.
SANDEEP DWIVEDI: The West Indies team of that era was so intimidating
that other cricketers wouldn’t have dared, forget racism, to even
casually sledge you guys. Somebody once used the word grovel (Tony
Greig) and the world knows what happened after that. How does this
dynamic work? Especially for the Asian teams of that era that have
complained of racism.
MICHAEL HOLDING: I have heard some members of my team say that they had
racist remarks passed at them or passed around them. You know, I can’t
say yes or no if that actually happened. During my entire career as a
cricketer playing for the West Indies, no one on the cricket field
passed a racist remark towards me. People will say because you bowled
fast, they were afraid. But I don’t think that was the case. We in that
team never said anything to anyone, we never abused anyone on the
cricket field. Perhaps that is the reason why people didn’t really say anything to us. Because all that we did was go about our business and
play as well as we possibly could. As for the Asian teams, perhaps they
would have had remarks being passed at them, I don’t know, I can’t
testify about something I am not aware of. But if that is the case, it
is understandable because if it takes place off the field, it can take
place on the field.
SRIRAM VEERA: In your book, (former South African cricketer) Makhaya
Ntini talks about why he didn’t get into the team bus but would run to
the ground from the hotel.
MICHAEL HOLDING: Yeah, he didn’t feel comfortable with the team. And he related a story that he would go for breakfast [first] and sit at a
table. Other team members would come in and sit at another table. None
of them would come and join him. Because of course, he was the first
Black African to play for South Africa. But he was all alone at his table.
You know, it is not shocking to me. When you have a country with that
sort of history [of apartheid], it takes a long time for people to
accept that we are all human beings. The apartheid regime doesn’t just
get washed away and everything goes back to normal. It will take time
for people to understand, people to accept and for people to come together.
NIHAL KOSHIE: What’s your take on South African cricket’s transformation policy: six players of colour, including two Black players, are
requirements. The criticism is that merit is not always rewarded.
MICHAEL HOLDING: In my book, both Makhaya Ntini and I agree that a quota
system is never going to be the solution. We can understand why it has
taken place as people are desperate for change – and as rapidly as
possible. But the best solution is to make opportunities available for everyone. I had this argument with Dr Ali Bacher from 2003 that instead
of going out and picking special talent and putting them in special
schools, make sure all facilities all around the country are accessible
to everyone. Don’t attempt to just pick the next Makhaya Ntini. As the chapter narrates, Ntini goes to the school and gets lost. He doesn’t
even know the [English] language. He doesn’t know what’s happening.
Don’t take him out of his community. Go to his community and improve the infrastructure so that they can develop themselves. It’s a lot easier on
them that way because you are putting pressure on them when you take
them out of their community. And of course, you will identify more
talents; instead of picking one, you might get 3-4. Ntini might bring
along a kid from his community who is good. That is the best way to get
to where you want to be – getting the best to be selected.
The quota system just shows that you are in a hurry to be where you want
to be. In my opinion, that should not last. You can’t keep on having a
quota system forever and forever. Ntini talks about it – he is in the
South African team and is being looked at as a quota player instead of
being justified of his place. He was mentally strong and able to get
over it. Not everyone is going to be like that, though. It can destroy
your mind.
SANDEEP DWIVEDI: What do you think about the West Indies of today? We
hear youth’s love for basketball and then they win a T20 tournament and
again talks of cricket revival begin. But it doesn’t last long. Why?
MICHAEL HOLDING: When you win a T20 tournament, that is not revival;
it’s not even cricket! It’s going to be very difficult for the West
Indies to get on top in Test cricket because of this T20. The T20
tournaments around the world are the bane of the game. When you are a
poor country and can’t afford to pay as much as England, Australia, and India, the players will go on to play T20. That’s where West Indies and others are getting hit. Unless you can pay as much as the rest of the
big countries, this will happen. Many West Indies players are not
interested in playing for West Indies. I don’t want to call out names.
When you are earning 600,000 or 800,000 dollars for six weeks, what are
you going to do? I don’t blame the cricketers. I blame the
administrators. They give a lot of lip service to Test cricket but all
they are interested in is bringing in money into their cupboards… West
Indies will win T20 tournaments which aren’t cricket; they won’t be a
force in Test cricket.
SANDEEP DWIVEDI: You haven’t found commentating in IPL interesting?
I only commentate on cricket.
SHIVANI NAIK: When your team bowled bouncers, the administrators changed
rules. Now things have changed with the episodes of concussions and
their long-term effects. Would you say cricket should relook that part
of the game or continue with it?
MICHAEL HOLDING: What I’ll tell you is that I’m glad I’m on the way out. Because they are slowly but surely destroying the game. I wouldn’t even
try to honour that with a proper response. You want to cut out bouncers
from the game? Okay, well, stop footballers from heading the ball
because that gives them concussion as well. And that is a study that has
proven to be correct. You try and protect people as much as you can,
yes, that is why people are wearing helmets and improving helmets now.
That is why they do so much to try and protect them because people’s
lives are important. But don’t turn it into a softball competition.
Cricket also is a test of your strength of character. What you have got
ticking inside your chest. That is why they call it Test cricket. If
you’re afraid of the ball, why should you be able to excel when you’re afraid? So if you’re a coward, find another way to make a living.
SANDIP G: Do you think batsmen are reluctant to play the hook shot these
days? More batsmen seem to be getting hit these days.
MICHAEL HOLDING: If you can’t hook, you don’t hook. You have too many people who cannot hook but are trying to hook because they have a false impression that their helmet will protect them. Years gone by, before
the helmets came along, people who could not hook didn’t try to hook
because they knew if they made a mistake, it could be a dangerous
mistake. If you’re playing on a normal, plain surface and getting hit,
it obviously means – 1) You’re not capable of playing the game that you’re trying to play or 2) You’re playing shots that you’re not capable of playing. Look at the history of the game. How many people got hit
before helmets came along?
SANDEEP DWIVEDI: This whole shrinking of cricket that is happening…
Looking at the bigger picture of Zimbabwe, even Sri Lanka, South Africa.
There was a point when there wasn’t so much money but cricket was active
in so many countries.
MICHAEL HOLDING: Michael Atherton wrote an article about it many years
ago. He thought Test cricket would die and I said, ‘No, Test cricket
won’t die in my life but it will become more and more insignificant.’ England, they say, is the mother of cricket where the game started
before all the colonialists took it around the world. The best months in England are supposed to be the summer months, right? Is yearly Test
cricket being played? They play in May and early June. The next Test
match is on August 4. This has been going on for two-three summers in
England. So, it’s obvious that they are putting other forms of cricket
over Test cricket. The shortest form of the game is attracting more and
more people and companies to broadcast them. Test cricket just gets lip service.
SRIRAM VEERA: India, England and Australia have got power in cricket.
You think they are using their power well? Some in India say the white
guys used to run it and now it’s our chance. Even if we do something
bad, let it be because they used to do it for so long, so let’s show
them who is boss now.
MICHAEL HOLDING: The great Nelson Mandela was in jail for 27 years and
when he became president of South Africa, if he had adopted that same
attitude of ‘Okay. It’s my time in power. I will do to you what you did
to me,’ South Africa would have been in a bloodbath. Great people don’t think that way.
Think of cricket as a universal game. Not something owned by India. We
saw the big three of England, Australia and India trying to take over
the game and they did for a period of time. They are still doing it but
doing so undercover. It’s obvious that they are only interested in themselves. The same attitude that you talk of… ‘Oh we have the power.
We will do as we like,’ it pervades the game.
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