Former New Zealand bowler Murphy Su'a has revealed a targeted racist incident involving a senior player in the 1990s.
After Black Caps great Ross Taylor revealed his own experience of bigotry within the Black Caps setup, Su'a says he was victim to a racist comment from a seniormember of the side.
"It really upset me. I got quite angry about it but nothing was ever done about it."
The Samoan-New Zealander says management swept the event under the rug, saying the player didn't mean it.
"They said it was just the heat of the moment. But for me, it wasn't the heat of the moment. No matter what you're doing, you can't talk to people and categorise them in the way that person did," Su'a said.
"He's never apologised for it and probably doesn't think he did anything wrong."
Su'a says he was even held partially responsible for the incident.
"They blamed me for my attitude. But it wasn't my attitude. When someone calls you a derogatory comment about where you come from, why wouldn't you get upset and defend yourself?"
Su'a - like Taylor - is of Samoan descent and is regarded as New Zealand's first male Pasifika player at international level.
The left-arm seamer played 13 tests and 12 one-dayers for New Zealand between 1992 and 1995.
New Zealand Cricket spokesperson Richard Boock offered sympathy to Su'a.
"I think the further you go back in time the worse that type of behaviour was. As Ross himself has said, things have improved immeasurably since then."
Boock says the governing body has reformed since the 1990s.
"When Murphy started playing international cricket, the old NZCC was run by a chairman and a secretary - it was before the days of the Hood Report, which transformed the body into a professional organisation. There was no players association, and very little support and protection for the players then," Boock said.
"Thankfully, the environment has improved a lot, but it's still terrible that Murphy and others had to experience that."
In his book, Taylor says dressing-room banter would often cross the line into racist remarks.
"A teammate used to tell me, 'You're half a good guy, Ross, but which half is good? You don't know what I'm referring to.' I was pretty sure I did. Other players also had to put up with comments that dwelt on their ethnicity."
Su'a said he was unsurprised to hear of Taylor's experiences. Su'a says he would regularly receive off-handed remarks about his race from teammates.
"There were definitely some facets of racism within the team. It wasn't widespread but there were definitely parts of racism there. Part of it I think is ignorance."
Murphy Su'a in 2010. Photo / Photosport
The New Zealand Cricket board is mostly Pākehā, with Rebecca Rolls and Diana Puketapu of Māori descent, both hailing from Ngāti Porou iwi. There is no Pasifika representative.
Su'a says the governing body has failed to address diversity in management when compared with other national unions.
"Women are one facet of diversity, but when you have people coming in that they perceive as 'diverse' but they have the same train of thought and way of thinking, that's not diversity to me."
As Pasifika representatives, Taylor and Su'a are anomalies in the top tier of New Zealand's game.
But Su'a says Taylor holds the key to making cricket a more inclusive sport.
He says more Māori and Pasifika youngsters would play if there was greater representation at the highest level.
"I think Ross is the perfect person that they should be utilising as a role model and actually try to bridge the gap between the mainstream and Pasifika, Māori and other ethnicities," Su'a said.
