Azeem Rafiq receives apology from new Yorkshire chairman

Patel
replaced
Roger
Hutton
as
the
chair
of
Yorkshire
after
the
latter
resigned
over
the
club’s
response
to
the
racism
allegations
raised
by
Rafiq
relating
to
his
time
with
the
county.

The
England
and
Wales
Cricket
Board
(ECB)
last
week
suspended
Yorkshire
from
hosting
international
and
major
matches
in
response
to
the
club’s
“wholly
unacceptable”
handling
of
Rafiq’s
allegations
of
institutional
racism
at
Yorkshire.

An
independent
report
upheld
that
the
spinner
had
been
a
victim
of
“racial
harassment
and
bullying”,
while
it
also
emerged
the
panel
deemed
repeated
use
of
a
racial
slur
as
“in
the
spirit
of
friendly
banter”,
according
to
ESPNcricinfo.
The
case
will
be
heard
in
parliament
later
this
month.

In
a
news
conference
on
Thursday,
Patel
offered
an
unreserved
apology.

“Azeem
is
a
whistleblower
and
should
be
praised
as
such,
he
should
never
have
been
put
through
this,”
Patel
said.

“We’re
sorry
for
what
you
and
your
family
have
experienced
and
the
way
in
which
we’ve
handled
this.

“I
thank
Azeem
for
his
bravery
in
speaking
out.
Let
me
be
clear
from
the
outset,
racism
or
discrimination
in
any
form
is
not
‘banter’.”

Patel,
who
is
commissioning
a
specialist
independent
review
of
the
county’s
processes
and
procedures
on
diversity
and
inclusion,
also
confirmed
a
settlement
with
Rafiq
did
not
include
a
non-disclosure
agreement.

“Absolutely
no
restrictions
have
been
placed
on
Azeem
on
what
he
can
or
cannot
say
about
his
experiences,”
Patel
added.

Yorkshire’s
new
chairman
has
been
in
contact
with
the
ECB
over
restoring
international
fixtures
to
Headingley,
which,
prior
to
its
suspension,
was
due
to
host
a
Test
match
against
New
Zealand
in
June
2022
and
an
ODI
against
South
Africa
the
following
month.

The
stadium’s
sponsor,
Emerald,
has
already
withdrawn
from
their
partnership,
while
kit
manufacturer
Nike
also
pulled
out
of
their
deal.