Ollie Robinson apologises for racist tweets from 2012: "I am ashamed of making such remarks"

The 27-year-old’s posts, made when he was 19, included derogatory jokes about Asians and Muslims. The ECB have opened an investigation into his actions

Ollie Robinson has apologised after racist social media posts from his teenage years resurfaced during the first day of his Test debut for England, as the ECB confirmed an investigation would be opened into his past actions.

Sussex allrounder Robinson took two wickets as New Zealand made 246 for 3 on day one at Lord’s, but faced questions about his Twitter activity nine years ago when he left the field. He now faces possible disciplinary proceedings.

The 27-year-old’s posts, made when he was 19, included derogatory jokes about Asians and Muslims. 

England did not inform Robinson of what was taking place online until stumps, and with the players required to surrender their mobile phones as per anti-corruption rules during the day’s play, he was not aware of what was being said online until the close.

Half an hour after the close of play on Wednesday, Robinson appeared on Sky Sports to read a statement in which he said he deeply regretted his actions.

“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. I want to make it clear that I'm not racist and I'm not sexist,” he said.

“I deeply regret my actions, and I am ashamed of making such remarks. 

“I was thoughtless and irresponsible, and regardless of my state of mind at the time, my actions were inexcusable. Since that period, I have matured as a person and fully regret the tweets.

“Today should be about my efforts on the field and the pride of making my Test debut for England, but my thoughtless behaviour in the past has tarnished this.

^{Ollie Robinson in action during the first day of the first Test}

“Over the past few years, I have worked hard to turn my life around. I have considerably matured as an adult. The work and education I have gained personally from the PCA, my county Sussex and the England Cricket Team have helped me to come to terms and gain a deep understanding of being a responsible professional cricketer.

“I would like to unreservedly apologise to anyone I have offended, my teammates and the game as a whole in what has been a day of action and awareness in combatting discrimination from our sport. 

“I don’t want something that happened eight years ago to diminish the efforts of my teammates and the ECB as they continue to build meaningful action with their comprehensive initiatives and efforts, which I fully endorse and support.

“I will continue to educate myself, look for advice and work with the support network that is available to me to learn more about getting better in this area. I am sorry, and I have certainly learned my lesson today.

One tweet read: “I wonder if Asian people put smileys like this ¦) #racist”.

Another read: “My new muslim friend is the bomb #wheeyyyyy”.

The fact the posts came to light on the very same day the England players walked out at Lord’s in shirts embroidered with logos including “We Stand Together Against Racism”, “We Stand Together Against Sexism”, and “Cricket Is A Game For Everyone” makes the situation increasingly delicate for the ECB, which has itself been accused of racial discrimination and failing to meet diversity goals in recent months.

ECB chief executive Tom Harrison said a "full investigation" would take place into Robinson's tweets.

“I do not have the words to express how disappointed I am that an England men’s player has chosen to write tweets of this nature, however long ago that might have been,” he said in a statement. 

“Any person reading those words, particularly a woman or person of colour, would take away an image of cricket and cricketers that is completely unacceptable. We are better than this. 

^{Robinson's racist tweets from 2012 and 2013 resurfaced during play on Wednesday}

“We have a zero-tolerance stance to any form of discrimination and there are rules in place that handle conduct of this nature. We will initiate a full investigation as part of our disciplinary process.”

Robinson’s tweets were posted in 2012 and 2013, when he was in his late teens and early 20s, spread across spells at Kent and Yorkshire.

People who were close to the seamer at the time describe a tearaway, who lived an unmanageable lifestyle - prioritising socialising over cricket. It is for such reasons that he was sacked by Yorkshire.

"We played a seconds game in Liverpool," Robinson told BBC Sport recently. "Straight away I got into the car to go to Kent, a five- or six-hour drive.

"I stayed there for a night, saw my mates the next day, then left Kent at 1am to get to training at 9am.”

It was 2014 when the patience of those in charge at Headingley eventually snapped, with Yorkshire director of cricket Martyn Moxon saying at the time that Robinson was dismissed following three major misconduct matters and “a string of less major incidents”. Timekeeping and trust issues come up when Robinson’s early career is discussed. And that general ignorance evidently spread into his time on social media too.