Robinson tweets spark ‘cancel culture’ row

Should a person’s racist past be forgiven? Yesterday, as a second cricketer was linked with offensive posts, many called for punishment. But some say we should accept that people can change. Professional sports are not like most other walks of life. They are dominated by young men, mostly in their 20s or even their late teens, earning mind-boggling salaries, placed under the pressure of constant scrutiny from media and fans. It is perhaps unsurprising that so many of these young men find themselves caught up in scandals. So when England cricketer Ollie Robinson was suspended on Sunday by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) over historical Twitter posts that used racist and sexist language, it seemed like a familiar story. But now a second cricketer on the England team has been accused of writing racist posts in his youth. Cricket journal Wisden, which unearthed the posts, has not revealed the identity of the player because the posts were written before he turned 16. The cases have attracted wider attention because of an intervention by cabinet minister Oliver Dowden, who said the decision to suspend Robinson went “over the top”. Dowden argues that Robinson should not be held to account for things that he said while he was still a teenager. Shortly afterwards, a spokesperson for Boris Johnson confirmed that he was “supportive” of Dowden’s comments. Former England cricketer Mark Ramprakash said Johnson’s involvement was “unwelcome” and that more support should be shown for the targets of Robinson’s racist posts. Other people have reformed their characters after committing racist acts in their younger years. When he was 14, Justin Bieber was caught on video using a racial slur and joking about the Ku Klux Klan. Prince Harry was photographed at a party wearing a Nazi uniform when he was 20 years old. Liam Neeson was criticised in 2019 after admitting that as a young man he had gone looking for an opportunity to kill a Black man. Some think individuals should be allowed to leave their racist pasts behind them. They argue people should be judged according to what they do now – not what they did when they were too young to know any better. But others think this is not enough – that if a person wants to be forgiven for racism they should have to make amends for it. Another former England cricketer, Michael Carberry suggests that Robinson could now devote himself to driving racism out of cricket to prove that he has shed his earlier opinions. Carberry also asks why Dowden said nothing in defence of Marcus Rashford after he faced racist abuse for his activism while supporting Robinson over his racist posts. For some, this is proof that White people do not face serious consequences for racism. Should a person's racist past be forgiven? Bowled over Yes, say some. They say that people are bound to make mistakes in their youth when they are more reckless and less likely to think through the consequences of their actions. And punishing people too harshly is not the best way to ensure that somebody has changed their opinions. We should strive to create a more understanding and forgiving culture in which people are not punished for views they held years ago, provided they have apologised and moved on. Not at all, say others. They want more than just an apology from former racists: they want action. They think that we cannot just give people like Liam Neeson and Ollie Robinson the benefit of the doubt that they have examined and abandoned their previous views. Those people need to prove it by making amends to people they have offended and committing themselves to the cause of anti-racism. KeywordsKu Klux Klan - An extremist white supremacy organisation which has existed since the 1860s.