World Cup-winning England captain Eoin Morgan and vice-captain Jos Buttler are under investigation by the England and Wales Cricket Board over their alleged tweets mocking Indians surfaced on social media. The ECB has said appropriate action will be taken and each case will be considered individually. The tweets allegedly from Morgan and Buttler surfaced on social media days after fast bowler Ollie Robinson was suspended for his historical racist and sexist tweets. Robinson, whose Test debut was overshadowed by the controversy, missed the 2nd Test against New Zealand.
"Screenshots have also been shared of a message by Buttler in which he says 'I always reply sir no1 else like me like you like me' and, separately, Morgan includes Buttler in a message which says, 'Sir you're my favourite batsman'," according to a report in the Telegraph.co.uk. "Although there are questions over the precise context of the tweets, they were written at a time when Buttler and Morgan were established England players and have caused offence on social media," the report added.
Morgan and Buttler are established England stars who also have lucrative Indian Premier League contracts. While the skipper leads Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, Buttler is one of the key players for Rajasthan Royals.
The ECB acknowledged that several historical offensive posts allegedly by England players have surfaced after Robinson suspension and that the board would conduct thorough investigations before taking appropriate action. "Since we were alerted to offensive tweets last week, a number of historical social media posts by other individuals have been questioned publicly as well," an ECB spokesperson said.
"There is no place for discrimination in our sport, and we are committed to taking relevant and appropriate action wherever required. Given the concerns which have been raised are clearly now broader than a single case, the ECB Board will discuss how we deal with issues over historical social media material in a timely and appropriate manner. Each case will be considered on an individual basis, looking at all the facts. We will assess cases with the ECB Board before making further statements."
Meanwhile, England's all-time wicket-taker James Anderson has also been alleged of posting a homophobic tweet in 2010. "For me, it's 10-11 years ago, I've certainly changed as a person. And I think that's the difficulty, things do change, you do make mistakes," Anderson said, as quoted by the British media.
