Viv Richards and Carl Hooper has demanded an apology from Brian Lara over claims made by the legendary West Indies batter in his book “Lara: The England Chronicles”. Lara claimed that Richard used to intimidate players in the West Indies cricket team and he would make him cry every few weeks. He further claimed that Viv also made Hooper cry “once a week”. However, Richards and Hooper have come up a joint statement regarding the things written in Lara’s book. The statement stated that the two former cricketers are disappointed at the “gross misrepresentations” in the book and it further alleged that they “distort the “reality” of the relationship they have off the field.
“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.”
Earlier, Lara made serious revelations of Viv's relationship with himself and Hooper.
“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,” Lara wrote.
However, the statement has rubbished any such claims.
“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 — an assertion that is not only baseless but also deeply hurtful to both parties,” the statement read.
“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,” it added.