Henry Olonga, a former fast bowler for Zimbabwe cricket, has publicly expressed regret for his previous statement regarding the suspected death of his teammate Heath Streak.
Olonga’s initial social media post on Streak’s passing received a lot of attention.
The rumour was inaccurate, he subsequently stated, and he shared a chat screenshot with Streak to prove it. The fake story had already become extensively circulated at that point.
In his apology, Olonga expressed profound remorse for disseminating misleading information and offered insights into his long-standing friendship with Streak, which dates back to 1984 when they were schoolmates.
Olonga revealed that he had been keeping track of Streak’s health status and explained that after receiving the initial news, he attempted to verify it by reaching out to Streak and his family.
However, due to the late hour and a lack of immediate responses, a misunderstanding of the situation arose.
He also expressed his happiness over the outpouring of support and love that Streak received from fans worldwide during the entire ordeal.
Part of Olonga’s statement on Facebook read,
“Obviously, I am extremely sorry that I took it as gospel. I then placed my own tributes, which seemed to gather a lot of traction ( amongst many tributes out there) only to get a text from Heath a few hours later in which he asked me to reverse the decision. (He has always had a great sense of humour)….
“I of course profusely apologised to the Streaks after the clanger. They did not need this. In any case, I hope you understand the context now and again appreciate your forgiveness for my part in this unfortunate affair. I am very sad about it. It was extremely heartwarming to see how much love there is out there for our champion. Perhaps a silver lining.”
