Shannon Gabriel issues public statement of apology after the ICC ban

Antigua, February 14: West Indies fast bowler Shannon Gabriel on Thursday (February 14) has issued a public statement apologising for his remarks during the third and final Test against England at St Lucia. It has been reported that Gabriel had made a homophobic slur at England captain Joe Root.

Stump microphone during the third day of the third Test picked Root telling Gabriel there was nothing wrong with being a gay. But it was not clear what Gabriel told Root and the International Cricket Council (ICC) charged Gabriel over his alleged anti-gay remarks.

England won the Test by 232 runs while West Indies won the series 2-1. But Gabriel was banned by the ICC for four ODIs for abusing Root. On this day, Gabriel expressed his unconditional apology through a public statement.

"I think I owe it to them (friends and well-wishers and the England team) and to all supporters of West Indies cricket to provide an accurate record of what happened," he wrote in the statement.

"The exchange occurred during a tense moment on the field. The pressure was on and England's captain Joe Root was looking at me intensely as I prepared to bowl, which may have been the usual psychological strategy with which all Test cricketers are familiar.

"I recognize now that I was attempting to break through my own tension when I said to Joe Root: 'Why are you smiling at me? Do you like boys?'

"His response, which was picked up by the microphone, was: 'Don't use it as an insult. There's nothing wrong with being gay.' I then responded: 'I have no issues with that, but you should stop smiling at me."

The ICC found Gabriel guilty of breaching article 2.13 of the Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which related to personal abuse of a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire or Match Referee during an international match, following the verbal altercation Root.

However, Root did not report the incident to match officials. Root said Gabriel might even regret his comments later. "Sometimes people say things on the field that they might regret, but they should stay on the field," Root said.