Hemang Badani opens up about racism he has dealt with
Badani has been called a name he despises for all his life.
Racism has been a grave issue even in modern times. Many sportsmen have faced some form of a racial bias in the early days’ former Indian cricketer Hemang Badani is one of those who were at the receiving end. There have been various instances on the cricket field as well where players were poked at or disgusted for their race with racial slurs. The International Cricket Council (ICC) to keep it out of the game has a strict Anti Racism policy in place.
Badani spoke about the racism he has faced throughout. He wrote a post on Twitter on how he was called Setu all his life which is a slang for his community. He further stated he felt disrespected when someone used that word to address him and expressed that his parents have given him a beautiful name and he’d prefer to be called only that and nothing else.
Badani’s post
“Have been called “Setu” all my life and I find it very racist. I don’t remember calling anyone by their caste or religion. So why me. I find it extremely disrespectful. My parents have given me a beautiful name and it’s only fair that I be called by that name and nothing else,” Badani tweeted.
This isn’t the first time someone has spoken against racism. Last year, Indian cricketer Abhinav Mukund came up with a post on the microblogging platform. He spoke about how he had faced racist comments since his teens for the colour of his skin. He even urged people to change the mindset of those around them.
There’s an infamous episode of the same during a cricket game. Former Aussie cricketer Dean Jones who was commentating during a game had referred to Hashim Amla as a terrorist. He was immediately sacked from the job even though he apologized.
Then there was the whole Monkeygate incident where the Australian players had accused Harbhajan Singh of using a racial slur. India, in their defence, had stated that it was a swear word and the matter was only sorted out after weeks of claims from both ends.
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