Darren Sammy says SRH teammates used racist nickname, seeks apology
New Delhi: Former West Indies captain Darren Sammy has claimed that some of his IPL teammates addressed him with a racist nickname during his stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad and has demanded an apology from the bunch, which might also include India pacer Ishant Sharma.
The two-time T20 World Cup-winning captain had earlier said that he has understood that 'Kalu', a word that was used to address him, is racist. 'Kalu' is a derogatory word to describe black people.
In a fresh Instagram post, Sammy said his teammates used the word to call him during his 2013-2014 stint with SRH.
One of them could be Ishant, who had shared a group picture, also featuring Sammy, on May 14, 2014, using the word 'Kalu' to identify the West Indian in it. The same year, even Sammy addressed himself as 'Kalu' in a social media post to offer birthday wishes to VVS Laxman -- the SRH mentor at that time.
"I was listening to Hasan Minhaj (Indian-American comedian and actor) talking about how some of the people in his culture view or describe black people," Sammy said in his Instagram post.
"...I was angry after listening to him describing a word that they use to describe black people, which he was saying is not in a good way and it was degrading.
"Instantly I remembered when I played for Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2013 and 2014, I was being called the exact same word that he described," he added.
Sammy demanded an apology and asked the teammates, who he refused to name, to reach out and offer apologies.
"All those who used to call me that, you guys know yourselves... Reach out to me, let's have a conversation. Because, if it was in any way, shape or form what Minhaj said it meant, I'm very disappointed," he said.
"I will be messaging those people. You guys know who you are. I must admit, at the time in which I was being called that, I did not know what it meant," he added.
"I thought it meant strong stallion or whatever it is, and I saw no problems with it because I was ignorant to the fact of what it meant, I thought it meant something else, something uplifting."
Sammy, who now plies his trade in the Pakistan Super League, said he distinctly remembers laughter at the very mention of the word.
"Me being a team man, I thought, hey, team-mates are happy, it must be something funny. You can understand my frustration and my anger when it was pointed out to me that it wasn't funny at all, it was degrading," he said.
"I've had great memories in all the dressing rooms I've been in, as a T20 player, as a leader in a dressing room, as a captain, I've always been one to build up a relationship or build up a team, not bring it down.
"So, all those who used to call me that, you guys know yourselves, some of you have my numbers, you have me on Instagram, on Twitter, wherever. Reach out to me, let's have a conversation," he added.
Sammy that reiterated he is very disappointed.
"...I'll still be angry, and deserve an apology from you guys, because I saw all of you guys as my brothers. So, talk to me, reach out to me, please clear the air," he said.
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Los Angeles county wildfires could be costliest in US history, early estimates say
Los Angeles, Jan 11: The wildfires that erupted this week across Los Angeles County are still raging, but already are projected to be among the costliest natural disasters in US history.
The devastating blazes have killed at least 11 people and incinerated more than 12,000 structures since Tuesday, laying waste to entire neighbourhoods once home to multimillion-dollar properties.
While it's still too early for an accurate tally of the financial toll, the losses so far likely make the wildfires the costliest ever in the US, according to various estimates.
A preliminary estimate by AccuWeather put the damage and economic losses so far between USD 135 billion and USD 150 billion. By comparison, AccuWeather estimated the damage and economic losses caused by Hurricane Helene, which tore across six southeastern states last fall, at USD 225 billion to USD 250 billion.
“This will be the costliest wildfire in California modern history and also very likely the costliest wildfire in US modern history, because of the fires occurring in the densely populated areas around Los Angeles with some of the highest-valued real estate in the country,” said Jonathan Porter, the private firm's chief meteorologist.
AccuWeather factors in a multitude of variables in its estimates, including damage to homes, businesses, infrastructure and vehicles, as well as immediate and long-term health care costs, lost wages and supply chain interruptions.
The insurance broker Aon PLC also said Friday that the LA County wildfires will likely end up being the costliest in US history, although it did not issue an estimate. Aon ranks a wildfire known as the Camp Fire in Paradise, California, in 2018 as the costliest in US history up to now at USD 12.5 billion, adjusted for inflation. The Camp Fire killed 85 people and destroyed about 11,000 homes.
The LA County wildfires, which were fuelled by hurricane-force Santa Ana winds and an extreme drought, remained largely uncontained Saturday. That means the final tally of losses from the blazes is likely to increase, perhaps substantially.
“To put this into perspective, the total damage and economic loss from this wildfire disaster could reach nearly 4 per cent of the annual GDP of the state of California,” AccuWeather's Porter said.
In a report Friday, Moody's also concluded that the wildfires would prove to be the costliest in US history, specifically because they have ripped through densely populated areas with higher-end properties.
While the state is no stranger to major wildfires, they have generally been concentrated in inland areas that are not densely populated. That's led to less destruction per acre, and in damage to less expensive homes, Moody's noted.
That's far from the case this time, with one of the largest conflagrations destroying thousands of properties across the Pacific Palisades and Malibu, home to many Hollywood stars and executives with multimillion-dollar properties. Already, numerous celebrities have lost homes to the fires.
“The scale and intensity of the blazes, combined with their geographic footprint, suggest a staggering price tag, both in terms of the human cost and the economic toll,” Moody's analysts wrote. The report did not include a preliminary cost estimate of the wildfire damage.
It could be several months before a concrete tally of the financial losses from the wildfires will be possible.
“We're in the very early stages of this disaster,” Porter said.
