Archer reveals struggles over coping with racial abuse on Social media

Cricketers are placed on pedestals. They are always in the public eye and are subject to constant scrutiny. It becomes difficult for them to have their private lives. They lose the liberty to make mistakes, for even a minute error in judgement could kick up a storm. Add to that, the era of social media where the public rants out their frustration on their idols, and there is no place to escape for the players. The line between criticism and abuse is often blurred, leading to the dehumanisation of the subject. Take for instance Jofra Archer. The fast bowling sensation, who was the hero for England just a year ago, winning them the World cup, is now a villain and has been the victim of racial abuse for breaking the bio-secure bubble protocols.

Archer, whose momentary lapse of discernment led to him breaking quarantine rules, revealed that he has copped racial abuse on Social media platform, Instagram. "Some of the abuse I have taken over the past few days on Instagram has been racist and I have decided enough is enough,” said Archer, in his column for The Daily Mail.

Archer drew comparisons to a similar, recent occurrence when footballer Wilfried Zaha endured a similar fate, saying "I will not allow anything to pass, so I have forwarded my complaints to the ECB and that will go through the correct process. Since Wilfried Zaha, the Crystal Palace footballer, was abused by a 12-year-old online I drew a line and I will not allow anything to pass, so I have forwarded on my complaints to the ECB and that will go through the correct process.”

Archer, who was fined for his fault of not adhering to the safety protocols, has been spending time in isolation. He has also tested negative twice for COVID-19 in that time frame. Archer acknowledged that he was wrong, writing "Yes, I made a mistake in not driving to Old Trafford directly from Southampton between matches. But people make mistakes.”

"I know what I did was an error of judgement and I have suffered the consequences of that. I accept I put the other guys at risk. I did not follow the advice and therefore apologised to my team-mates, to the West Indies team and to everyone involved in the series. But I haven't committed a crime and I want to start feeling myself again,” he added.

Often, being placed under such high levels of scrutiny can have an adverse effect on players’ mentality, and Archer hinted at difficulties he has been facing since being allowed to be back out in the public sphere. "I found I was struggling for motivation in the circumstances when it came to returning to bowling in the nets. When I walked outside of my room for the first time since being placed into self-isolation for breaking the Covid-19 protocols, I heard the cameras clicking with every single step I took," he said.

"The whole spectacle made me feel uneasy. I know what I did was an error of judgement and I have suffered the consequences of that. I spoke briefly to the doctor about how I'm feeling and also to Ben Stokes on Monday night. Ben tried to advise me on how to deal with being in the spotlight of international sport. He vowed to back me and support me. Now, I need to be 100 per cent mentally right so that I can throw myself into my cricket this week,” Archer hoped.

[Cricbuzz inputs]