England captain Joe Root has said his side must "face up to things" after a number of offensive historical tweets from players came to light that threatens to overshadow their on-field commitment to making cricket an inclusive game.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
England will again wear T-shirts with anti-discrimination slogans ahead of the start of the second Test against New Zealand at Edgbaston on Thursday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Root's team made a collective statement ahead of last week's drawn first Test at Lord's by taking the field before play on the first day wearing black tops carrying the message "Cricket is a game for everyone".<\/p>\r\n\r\n
They also stood with their opponents in a "moment of unity" to show their shared values but those gestures were overshadowed by the emergence of racist and sexist tweets posted several years earlier by England debutant Ollie Robinson.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has suspended the seamer pending an investigation and resolved to look into potentially offensive material posted by other members of the national side.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Root said England would again make a public plea to rid cricket of discrimination.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Yes, we will," he said during his press conference on Wednesday. "We have committed to making a positive change in our sport. That doesn't change just because of what's happened. We have to face up to things."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday backed his culture and sports secretary, who said that the ECB had gone "over the top" in suspending the 27-year-old Robinson.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"It's been an uncomfortable week for everyone," said Root.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"We want to try and make positive change in our sport. We want to make it a better place. Of course there have been some uncomfortable things come to light over the past week and we have to own that and accept that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"As a team we will continue to talk about it because it's important but as professionals we know we have a job to do this week."<\/p>\r\n", "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2021\/06\/englands-joe-root-eyes-new-zealand-india-series-sweep-to-build-confidence-for-ashes2.jpg", "alt_img": "Cricket Image for England Must 'Face Up To Things' After Twitter Racism Row, Says Root", "alt_title": "Joe Root ", "image1": "", "video": "", "seo_title": "England Must 'Face Up To Things' After Twitter Racism Row, Says Root On Cricketnmore", "seo_desc": "Joe Root has said England must \"face up to things\" after a number of offensive historical tweets from players came to light.", "seo_keywords": "Joe Root", "tag": "", "tagging": "Joe Root,", "status": "1", "img_rpt": "0", "google": "1", "standout": "0", "edapps": "0", "pulse": "0", "no_index": "0", "feed": "0", "fixture": "0", "slug": "england-must-face-up-to-things-after-twitter-racism-row-says-root", "user_id": "0", "read_count": "0", "ians_date": "0000-00-00", "ians_time": "00:00:00", "server_time": "0000-00-00 00:00:00", "trash": "0", "view_count": "2134", "page_break": "0", "instant_articles": "1", "auto_link": "1", "created": "2021-06-09 21:25:42", "updated": "2021-06-09 21:26:40", "img_from": "Image Source: AFP", "img_source": "", "schedule_publish": "0000-00-00 00:00:00", "news_keywords": "Joe Root, England, England Twitter, Root, England Cricketers Tweet, ECB, Racism", "livescore_text": null, "livescore_link": null, "btn_text": null, "resend_feed": "0", "google_feed": "0", "read_more": "0", "posted_by": "21", "jio_date": "2021-06-09 21:25:42", "scheduled": "0", "news_now": "1", "breaking_news": "0", "google_date": "2021-06-09 21:25:42", "featured": "0", "pred_match_id": null, "article_content_type": null, "england_cricket": "0", "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-news\/england-must-face-up-to-things-after-twitter-racism-row-says-root-77622" }