Former England player Alex Hales has apologized for “all the offense” he has committed after a photo showing him wearing black makeup was posted.
Hales said he was paying tribute to late rapper Tupac Shakur at a New Year’s Eve party in 2009.
In a statement on Instagram, the 32-year-old added that he now realizes this is “deeply disrespectful”.
It came a few days after Hales denies any racist implication in naming his dog, following allegations by Azeem Rafiq.
Of the photo published in The Sun, he said: “The subject is musicians and Tupac was, is and always will be my favorite musician, so I went like him.
“I clearly realize that this is extremely disrespectful and I would like to apologize for all the offense this has no doubt caused.
“On my behalf, it was an incredibly reckless and stupid act, so I want to apologize for that, to apologize to the club for the shame it has caused them.
“I guess my twenties were full of mistakes like that, reckless mistakes off the pitch that cost me, disappointing family, disappointing teammates, friends, close relationships. that I had during my twenties.
“Some of these decisions I’ll regret for the rest of my life, and over the past few years, stepping away from the limelight for a bit has given me the opportunity to try and better myself with as a human being, continues to get better at cricket, but better beyond the field.
“It’s something that I feel like I’ve done and I’m continuing to work towards.”
Hales’ club, Nottinghamshire, said it had “widen the scope” of its investigation into his conduct after the photo was published.
It “started the appropriate internal process” following Rafiq’s testimony about Hales.
In a statement, the club added: “Alex will be subject to the club’s established disciplinary process and has expressed a willingness to participate in the investigation.”
A spokesman for the England and Wales Cricket Council (ECB) said: “We strongly condemn any form of discrimination.
“We have procedures in place to deal with acts and allegations of this nature and we will investigate accordingly. We want cricket to be an inclusive game that is open to everyone.”
On Tuesday, former Yorkshire player Rafiq told a Digital, Culture, Media and Sport selection committee that former teammate Gary Ballance had used the name ‘Kevin’ as a “derogatory” term to just any player of color.
Rafiq said that Hales named his dog Kevin “because it’s black”, an allegation that Hales “clearly and categorically denies”.
In his statement on Friday, Hales added: “Regarding the allegations about the dog, it is an ongoing investigation at the club, so I cannot go into detail on that. , but I want to repeat what I said in my statement another day.
“Finally, I lament all forms of racism and discrimination. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to play around the world with different backgrounds, with players of all races. different peoples, different cultures and I’m incredibly lucky to be able to do that and I think it’s great that our game is so diverse and I’m proud to be a part of that.”
The ECB will hold a full-game meeting in the Oval on Friday, during which its handling of the ongoing racism crisis in sport is likely to draw a lot of criticism.
On Thursday, Rafiq – who spoke about his experience of racism in Yorkshire – apologized and said he was “deeply embarrassed” by use anti-Semitic language in Facebook messages from 2011.
The 30-year-old said he had “absolutely no excuse” for the messages.
