Former WI cricketer Franklyn Rose says New Zealand not safe for black cricketers

Rose was in New Zealand on a work visa

Former West Indian cricketer Franklyn Rose, who was deported from New Zealand earlier this year, has claimed that the country is not safe for international cricketers. Rose said he has written to the International Cricket Council stating, "New Zealand is not a safe place for international cricketers, especially if they are black". The former West Indies star was also contemplating taking out a lawsuit for the way he was treated by the New Zealand Government. 

The West Indian fast bowler had been in New Zealand since 2011 on a work visa, to play and coach in Auckland, but his visa expired in 2012 and he had been living in the country since then. Rose stated that he would have left the country much earlier had it not been for an attack in 2012 which put him in hospital. Things got further complicated for the former West Indies player as he developed a blood clot in his lungs while recuperating from the attack.

The West Indian was also placed before an Australian judge after the expiration of his Visa in 2012 and was sent to Mt. Eden prison post a deportation order as authorities believed he was a risk, with the potential to hide from officials. 

Speaking to New Zealand media after being deported, Rose stated, "My experience in New Zealand was okay until I had that horrible racial attack from those four white thugs that almost change my life for ever.

"While in hospital recovering from my wounds, I develop a blood clot in my lungs which prevented me from flying, and that was the reason for me ended up getting stuck in that country for almost four years."

“You cannot invite someone to your country to play and coach cricket then throw him in jail for no reason, then kick him out of your country.“ he added.

Rose also blamed the NZ police for not doing a fair and detailed investigation and also claimed the investigating officer had racially stereotyped him.“What have I done to be locked in a prison for several weeks? I felt so terrified and nervous when I realized I was living with and among serial killers, rapists and drug dealers.”

The West Indian has had his fair share of run-ins with the law as Rose faced charges of rape by a woman from Auckland earlier in the year but all charges were dropped. In 2002, the player was convicted of assaulting a Canadian woman outside a nightclub in Jamaica. However, the former West Indian player stated that he was provoked and hence slapped the woman.