Nasser Hussain reacts to Ollie Robinson's hate tweets
Nasser Hussain hopes that Ollie Robinson's hateful tweets from the past will serve as a deterrent to others from sending out offensive comments on social media. Robinson's Test debut at Lord's took a backseat yesterday when some of his old tweets came to light where he shared sexist and racist remarks.
The ECB, meanwhile, has launched an investigation, and Ollie Robinson had to come up with an apology after the day's play. Speaking on Sky Sports, former England skipper Nasser Hussain stated that online abuse, sexism and racism are "just not on".
"It's just a lesson really, that if you are in and around the team first of all treat anything you do on social media as if you are doing a press conference. If you are going to wear T-shirts about online hate and online abuse and sexism and racism, that you can't be doing this; it's just not good enough, it's just not on. But I also think we are probably a bit of a cruel society if we don't realise that an 18-year-old does make mistakes and he has made mistakes and he's made it horribly wrong and he's fronted up," Hussain said.
Fast bowler Ollie Robinson picked up two of the three wickets that fell on Day 1 of the Lord's Test. New Zealand ended the day in a commanding position at 246-3.
"It has ruined Ollie Robinson's biggest day as a professional cricketer" - Nasser Hussain
An international debut is a special occasion for any cricketer, and Nasser Hussain believes the old tweets ruined one of Ollie Robinson's most memorable moments of his life.
The former England skipper, who added that Robinson's old tweets were 'horrible', insisted that the pacer should not have made those racist and sexist comments.
"It does not make it right in any way; I've read the tweets, I've seen the tweets, they are horrible, they are not right and you should never say those things whether you are 18 or 28. There is no room for racism, there is no room for online hate, there is no room for being a keyboard warrior. It is not acceptable but he was an 18-year-old who has made mistakes and we've all made mistakes; it has ruined his biggest day as a professional cricketer," Hussain added.
The 27-year-old came up with an apology, stating he "deeply regrets his actions" and is "embarrassed" by his old tweets.