Cricket-'We must win back trust' - English cricket bodies unite to
tackle racism
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[November 20, 2021] LONDON
(Reuters) - England's major cricketing bodies collectively
apologised on Friday to all those who have suffered racism and
discrimination in the game following former Yorkshire cricketer
Azeem Rafiq's revelations about the abuse he encountered.
Rafiq told a British parliamentary committee
https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/
sports/asian-heritage-cricketers-insulted-humiliated-yorkshire-rafiq-says-2021-11-16
on Tuesday that he had suffered "inhuman" treatment in his time at
Yorkshire and described the sport being riddled with racism in
England.
A meeting was held on Friday at the Oval between the England & Wales
Cricket Board, Marylebone Cricket Club, the Professional Cricketers'
Association, the National Counties Cricket Association and the First
Class and Recreational County Cricket network.
The organisations released a joint-statement in which they said they
would look at ways to make English cricket more open and inclusive
before finalising a plan of action to be announced next week.
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"Racism and discrimination is a blight on our game. To Azeem and all
those who have experienced any form of discrimination, we are truly
sorry. Our sport did not welcome you, our game did not accept you as
we should have done. We apologise unreservedly for your suffering,"
the statement said.
"We stand together against discrimination in all its forms, and are
united as a sport to act...
"Today, as a game, we discussed a series of tangible commitments to
make cricket a sport where everyone feels safe, and everyone feels
included. We will now finalise the detail and publish these actions
next week.
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General view of the Marylebone Cricket Club logo Action Images via
Reuters/Peter Cziborra
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"Our game must win back your trust."
ECB chief executive Tom Harrison said after the meeting that he will
not step down from his role at the governing body and is "very
motivated" to tackle racism within the sport.
Harrison, who has held the position since 2015, was quizzed by
members of a British parliamentary committee on Tuesday shortly
after Rafiq's account of racial slurs at the club.
"I feel very determined to lead this change through the game and
make sure this blight is addressed in the game," Harrison told
reporters.
"I feel passionately about this issue. It's something I feel to my
core. I've been trying to drive an inclusive and diverse sport from
the moment I arrived as chief executive in 2015. I feel very
motivated and very supported to make sure that change happens in the
game.
"I do want to make sure I leave a game that has the right safe kind
of environment for everyone to feel welcomed and feel a sense of
belonging in."
Earlier on Friday, the ECB said it would investigate the matter of
an old image published in The Sun newspaper showing former England
batsman Alex Hales in blackface at a fancy dress party.
Rafiq himself apologised on Thursday for using anti-Semitic language
in 2011 during an exchange of messages on social media with another
cricketer.
(Reporting by Christian Radnedge and Hritika Sharma, editing by
Pritha Sarkar)
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