Olonga apologizes for Heath Streak's death rumor

 

Heath Streak's death rumor from a cancer-related illness viral quickly on social media earlier this week as former Zimbabwe cricketer Henry Olonga shared the awful news on his official Twitter account.

However, shortly after tweeting, Olonga tweeted a screenshot of his discussion with Heath Streak, indicating that the former Zimbabwe captain was alive and well.

Streak later, personally blasted the erroneous news and demanded a public apologies from the author of the report, emphasizing the power of disinformation.On Saturday, Olonga took to his official Facebook account to address his initial tweet and issue a public apology for spreading the unfounded rumor about Heath Streak's death.

"When news came to me that Heath was unwell earlier this year I made a concerted effort to reconnect after life had us all immersed in our own worlds. Heath has kept me up to date with all that is going on with treatment etc and we have had good contact throughout. The same with Nadine (Streak). They are the closest friends I have from the world of Zimbabwe cricket. Most others I have less interaction with," Olonga wrote in his statement on Facebook.

"In any case I was informed that Heath had taken a turn for the worse. We were encouraged to write kind words for his eulogy. So it appeared imminent. I will not go into too much detail how the mis-communication occurred but rest assured I heard the story first on Facebook like everyone else," wrote Olonga in his Facebook post.

"I did immediately text Heath and Nadine to verify. It was a while before they could respond as it was late at night. I texted a few close cricket colleagues who know the family well and they confirmed it was true. I did ask pointed questions to verify but they were convinced."

"After all I had only heard from Heath the day before so it seemed kind of sudden. But I truly was devastated as I genuinely believed he was gone. And all the emotion I felt I am sure those who encountered the story felt it too," he added.

Olonga further wrote he got a message from Streak later, asking him to 'reverse the decision'. "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 then had to back track and attempt to fix the error that unfortunately had gone global. But how can it get fixed easily in this day and age? So I retracted as best I could. 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," he added.

>>Agencies