Explained: Why debutant Ollie Robinson is suspended for old tweets

England Seamer Ollie Robinson has been suspended from all International cricket by ECB pending the outcome of a disciplinary action following historic tweets he posted in 2012 and 2013 in Twitter.

He performed with the figure of 7-101 with the Ball and 42 Runs off 101 with the Bat.
Robinson will leave the England camp immediately and return to his county.

What were the tweets and when did it resurface?

In one particular tweet from 2012, Robinson said: “My new Muslim friend is the bomb”. In another: “I wonder if Asian people put smileys like this ¦) #racist”, while a third tweet quipped: “Guy next to me on the train definitely has Ebola.” These screenshots resurfaced on numerous social media platforms after lunch interval on Day 1 of the ongoing Test between England and New Zealand.

Who began circulating these old tweets?

It remains unclear as to who circulated these screenshots on social media on Wednesday afternoon. Robinson’s Twitter handle is currently suspended. It’s possible that someone had saved these old tweets and began circulating them on the day he made his debut.

How did Robinson react?

He has served an unconditional apology for his tweets, and conceded that he was left “embarrassed” that they had resurfaced on the day he made his Test debut. “On the biggest day of my career so far, I am embarrassed by the racist and sexist tweets that I posted over eight years ago, which have today become public,” Robinson said in a statement released shortly after stumps on the opening day of the Lord’s Test. “I want to make it clear that I’m not racist and I’m not sexist, and deeply regret my actions, and I am ashamed of making such remarks…,” he added.

What makes the discovery of these 9-year-old tweets ironic?

That’s because Robinson, along with the rest of his England team-mates had participated in ‘Moment of Unity’ ahead of the first day’s play, where they donned t-shirts as a show of solidarity to weed out intolerance in all forms — racism, sexism and religious — from the game. In this backdrop, these revelations surrounding Robinson are laced with a tinge of irony.

ECB’s statement