Viv Richards, Carl Hooper demand apology from Brian Lara for causing 'emotional abuse' through 'false claims' in book
Carl Hooper and Viv Richards have asked Brian Lara to issue an apology for details they claim as 'grossly misinterpreting'.
Days after Brian Lara' book 'LARA The England Chronicles' hit the stores, the West Indies legend finds himself in the middle of a controversy, with former teammates Viv Richards and Carl Hooper demanding an apology from the 'Prince of Trinidad'. Lara, whose book claimed that Richards, as captain, used to 'make him cry every three weeks' and Hooper 'once a week', has been asked to explain his claims by a joint statement issued by Hooper and Richards. The statement also accuses Lara of 'grossly misinterpreting' the actual events and 'attempting to profit from such deceit'.
In an excerpt in his book, Lara claimed that Richards could be a hard task master and that his words could be rather terrifying for the players, albeit they were for the betterment of the West Indies cricket team. "I will say this: Viv used to make me cry every three weeks, but he would make Carl cry once a week. Viv's tone of voice is intimidating and if you're not strong enough, you can take that personally and be affected by it.
"Me, I was never really affected by it. In a way I welcomed it, because I was so much under his arm that I knew abuse was coming and I was a strong personality. Carl? I know for a fact that Carl shied away from Viv Richards."
But the revelations have been deemed as 'false' by both Hooper and Richards, with the statement claiming that both West Indies greats are left disheartened and that Richards' conduct was anything but rude ill-mannered or intimidating in any form.
"Sir Vivian Richards and Mr. Carl Hooper are deeply disheartened by the gross misrepresentations made about them in Mr. Brian Lara's recently released book. The allegations presented not only distort the reality of their relationship but also impugn their characters in an unjust and harmful manner," said the joint statement.
"The claim that Sir Vivian was aggressive towards Mr. Hooper and made him cry once a week is categorically false. Such descriptions paint Sir Vivian as a perpetrator of emotional abuse – and assertion that is not only baseless but also deeply hurtful to both parties."
Lara's book not the first to garner controversy
Lara is not the first to have attracted controversy following a book released. Shoaib Akhtar's autobiography, released in 2011, had infamously stated that he saw Sachin Tendulkar's feet shaking while facing him. Tendulkar himself in his autobiography, revealed some shocking anecdotes, such as Greg Chappell approaching him for India captaincy just months before the 2007 World Cup and more. Former England captain Kevin Pietersen' biography went a notch higher, leading to a back-and-forth allegations and counter attacks from the people he had mentioned.
That one of the two people mentioned by Lara is one of his idols and the other a long-time teammate, has taken Hooper and Richards by surprise. Lara, who made his West Indies debut in 1990 featured in just one game with Richards as his teammate, but Hooper and him played together for nearly 15 years. Only Lara, Hooper and Richards know what the truth is, but with the three of them not seeing eye to eye promises to affect the long-term relationship the author shares with both.
"Sir Vivian, as Mr. Hooper's first captain, has never caused emotional distress to Mr. Hooper. On the contrary, he has always acted as an encouraging mentor and provided unwavering support. Their nearly 40-year relationship has been founded on mutual respect and camaraderie. The misrepresentation of their interactions in Mr. Lara's book is a grave disservice to the truth and has caused undue distress to both parties and their families."
"We demand that Mr. Lara immediately issues a public retraction of these false claims and offer a sincere apology for the harm caused. It is crucial for the integrity of public discourse and their personal and professional lives that the truth is set right."
