West Indies fast bowler Shannon Gabriel was warned by the umpires for the language he used following an incident with England captain Joe Root.
Root scored 111 not out as England built a lead of 448 in the third Test. Sky Sports published a clip of Root responding to a comment from Gabriel by saying: “Don’t use it as an insult. There’s nothing wrong with being gay.”
The original comment by Gabriel was not picked up and Root refused to explain after play exactly what was said.
The incident could still appear in the end of match report and the International Cricket Council and West Indies cricket board could still take action.
Kirsty Clarke, director of sport at LGBT charity Stonewall, said: “Language is really influential and it’s great if Joe Root was willing to challenge potentially abusive comments.
“The more players, fans, clubs and organisations that stand up for equality in sport, the sooner we kick discrimination out and make sport everyone’s game.” (BBC)
