Former South Africa cricketer Hashim Amla on Wednesday came out in support of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement. He also thanked pacer Lungi Ngidi for taking a stand for the right cause. Amla came forward and stated that some people are delusional as they are of the belief that a race is superior to another.
“The imagined superiority of whites over blacks or blacks over whites, or one nationality over another, is simply delusional. Yes, that’s right, nothing but delusional,” Amla wrote on Instagram.
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“However many of us, including myself, have borne the brunt of these delusions and have crazy stories to tell which is why it makes it even more admirable to see exceptional youngsters like @lungingidi doing his bit to represent us all. Thank you brother and all those who stand up for just causes in their own way – publicly and privately,” he added.
Amla’s social media post comes a day after as many as thirt one former and current domestic and international South African players, including Makhaya Ntini, Vernon Philander, JP Duminy and Herschelle Gibbs signed a letter in support of Lungi Ngidi and the ‘Black Lives Movement’.
“We commend Lungi Ngidi for supporting #BlackLivesMatter and we would like to add our support for it too,” the letter by the former and current Proteas cricketers stated.
“We note the criticism aimed at Lungi for expressing his views — and we hope that CSA, together with fellow cricketers both present and past will come out strongly in support of #BLM,” it said.
Earlier, Lungi Ngidi had asked the South African board to show solidarity for the Black Lives Matter movement and this came under criticism from ex- players such as Pat Symcox, Boeta Dippenaar, Rudi Steyn and Brian McMillan.
“We note too that the most outspoken criticism directed at Ngidi has come via former players such as Pat Symcox, Boeta Dippenaar, Rudi Steyn, Brian McMillan, and others. We urge that their views be challenged. We are not surprised at their comments,” players showing support towards Lungi Ngidi said in their letter.
“Given South Africa’s well-known past, black cricketers have borne the brunt of subtle and overt racist behaviour for many years, including from some colleagues. Consequently, there is a need to understand how white privilege feeds into the perpetuation of these old attitudes and assumptions,” it added.
The Black Lives Matter moment had gained momentum after the death of an African-American man named George Floyd when a police officer, identified as Derek Chauvin, pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck in a viral video.
