Azeem Rafiq acted with class and grace in exposing cricket’s ugly racism problem

Azeem Rafiq spoke in front of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee (DCMS) this morning to provide evidence on the racial abuse he suffered whilst playing for Yorkshire County Cricket Club.

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It is doubtful whether Azeem Rafiq would ever have had as many nerves before a game of cricket as he did before his testimony to the DCMS select committee.

But from the moment the first question arrived and he was able to speak freely about his experiences at Yorkshire and in the game at large, Rafiq took his opportunity with great grace, class, emotion and power on a traumatic morning.

This is what bravery looks like. Stepping forward where others have been understandably fearful to tread, Rafiq held a mirror up to the game and it was an ugly sight.

Without any notes to refer to, because, you don’t really need reminding of what the truth is, if you stick to the truth, Rafiq explained exactly what he had been through during his career at Yorkshire and it was damning.

From having wine forcibly poured down his neck as a 15-year-old, to entering the senior Yorkshire side and being referred to as a ‘p***’ or an ‘elephant washer’ to being treated in what he describes as an ‘inhuman way’ following the stillborn death of his son.

This was a relentless catalogue of abhorrent behaviour towards Rafiq that highlighted in great detail the toxic environment that was allowed to fester at the club up until very recently.

And Rafiq made it clear that it should not be just one club in the spotlight here. There have been players from other counties who have spoken publicly and privately to him about their experiences at Essex, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, and Middlesex. Rest assured the list will not stop there.

Rafiq has been clear from the outset that this is not about individuals, but rather about the institutional and systemic racism that exists both at Yorkshire and within the game.

And he is right on this point, but it is also about the individuals and the way they behave that add up to a system.

It is the individual experience of Rafiq that has led us to this point, and it is an experience that cannot and must not be repeated in 2021.

As well as Rafiq spoke, and as impressive as he was, there were several moments of heartbreaking emotion during his testimony and at one stage the hearing had to be paused for five minutes.

If anyone has any doubt of the toll that this has taken on Rafiq, you only had to listen to the pain in his voice to know that the last few years have been hell for him.

But on he went. Revealing that Gary Ballance not only referred to him as a ‘p***’ but also referred to any person of colour as ‘kevin’.

Rafiq says this was an open secret in the England dressing room, where Ballance became good friends with Alex Hales who he believes named his black dog ‘kevin’ as a result.

Rafiq describes his former team-mate, and England Test captain Joe Root as a ‘good man.’ But what happens when good people do nothing?

This is the same Joe Root who said he never heard anything untoward during his time at Yorkshire even though he shared a house with Ballance for a time.

Rafiq said: “Joe Root is a good man. He never engaged in any racist language. But it was hurtful, Rooty was involved in those social nights out where I was called a ‘p***’

“Even a good man like him, doesn’t see it for what it is.”

He spoke briefly about 2005 Ashes winning skipper Michael Vaughan, insisting that he didn’t want to make it all about Michael Vaughan.

But on the claim that Vaughan said there were ‘too many of your lot’ in reference to Asian players, Rafiq said: “He may not remember it because it doesn’t mean anything to him, but three of the four Asian players he mentioned do remember it.

“I have spoken to Adil Rashid at length about this. He then used his platform with the Daily Telegraph to discredit me.”

There were other big names mentioned too, such as former England coach and current Sky Cricket pundit David Lloyd who Rafiq said messaged others trying to discredit him by referring to his drinking.

And Matthew Hoggard, a former England bowler who admitted using offensive language, but who actually called Rafiq to apologise for the things he said. One of precious few who appear to have done so.

“The morning after my Sky interview, I took a call from Matthew Hoggard,” Rafiq said. “He said, ‘I didn’t realise. I’m really sorry the way some of my comments made you feel. I just wanted to apologise for what I said’. I said, ‘Wow, thank you’. All I ever wanted was an apology.”

Perhaps the most harrowing story of all was the way in which Rafiq was treated the moment he decided to take a stand. The moment he no longer tried to fit in with the crowd.

Trying to use the avenues open to him to complain of bullying and harassment, instead of support he was met with bare faced anger from director of cricket Martyn Moxon.

With his son recently deceased Rafiq said: “Moxon ‘ripped the shreds off me’ in a way that I had never experienced before and had never seen him do to anyone else.”

At the moment when Rafiq needed love, he was presented with hate. And he firmly believes that hatred is rooted in racism.

“I lost my career to racism,” he finished. “My kids have not had a dad for the last 15 months as all I’ve been worried about is Yorkshire trying to discredit me.

“It has been challenging, but hopefully this provides some closure.”

For the game and for Yorkshire though, this is not the end. Merely a continuation of a journey that might finally be heading in the right direction.