‘Use of language was unacceptable’
In the wake of the Yorkshire Cricket Club racism scandal involving Azeem Rafiq and a number of former players and officials at the club, both Jack Brooks - who used to play for Yorkshire and was one of the players listed by Rafiq in his statement to MPS - and Somerset Cricket Club have released statements after further historical Tweets sent by Brooks on Twitter also came to light.
In his statement, Brooks said: “I acknowledge that the language used in two Tweets I made in 2012 was unacceptable and I deeply regret using it. I unreservedly apologise for any offence caused to anybody who may have seen these Tweets.
“The two players to whom I sent the Tweets are my friends and it was certainly not my intention to cause distress or offence to them or anyone who read them. It is my understanding that neither individual was offended at the time, but I accept that language is important and that a word I used may have caused offence to others.
“I condemn discrimination of any sort and I should never have used discriminatory language, no matter what the intention and context was. I wholeheartedly apologise for any offence caused.
“With reference to my naming in Azeem Rafiq’s statement to MPS this week, the use of the name “Steve” related to some people having difficult names to pronounce. When this has occurred in the past in a dressing room environment, it has been commonplace to give nicknames, regardless of creed or race.
“I admit to having used it in this context and now accept that it was disrespectful and wrong to do so. I have reached out and apologised to Cheteshwar (Pujara) for any offence that I have caused him or his family. At the time I didn’t recognise this as racist behaviour, but I can now see that it was not acceptable.
“I have always tried to act with the best endeavours for inclusion and harmony in the team environments, and I have strived to learn, understand and develop as a person. This has been helped by the diversity and inclusion training that I have undertaken this year and will continue to participate in via Somerset CCC.
“I will ensure that my actions and language are never brought into question like this again. I want to be clear and give an unequivocal apology to anybody who has ever been upset or offended by my actions. I am genuinely sorry.”
In response, Somerset have decided to reprimand Brooks - who hasn’t seemingly reoffended on social media, at least since those Tweets - and have asked the bowler to attend extra training on equality, diversity and inclusivity.
The club’s statement read: “Late on Sunday evening (November 14), Somerset County Cricket Club was made aware of allegations in relation to social media posts which had racist connotations made by one of our current players, Jack Brooks, while he was employed by another County in 2012.
“Jack was made aware of these allegations and the Club immediately launched an investigation.
“Subsequently, in addition to the social media posts, claims that Jack was involved in the adoption of the nickname “Steve” for an overseas player at Yorkshire were also investigated.
“No additional information or allegations were uncovered by the Select Committee on Tuesday and Jack has confirmed that he was not invited to participate in the review conducted by Yorkshire CCC.
“As a result of our internal investigation, alongside the evidence given to MPS this week and now in the public domain, the Club have spoken with Jack at length about the nature and content of his comments. There is no doubt that these comments are unacceptable.
“Somerset CCC condemn the use of language which has any racist connotations. Jack agrees with this sentiment and is embarrassed and devastated that his comments offended people and he has acknowledged that, whilst they were made nearly a decade ago when he was less mature, the content of the posts was wrong and not in accordance with his personal values. Jack has engaged honestly and openly throughout the investigation and unreservedly apologies for his past errors.
“Before arriving at conclusions, the club considered a number of factors including no evidence of repeated documented behaviour of this kind, the contrition shown by Jack throughout the process, feedback received from recipients of the social media posts, and his commitment to his own personal development.
“Given these considerations, the club has decided to reprimand Jack, remind him of his responsibilities and require him to participate in extensive training on Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity.
“There is no place for racism at Somerset Cricket or across the game as a whole. The club encourages anyone with information on incidents which may have occurred in the past to report them to the Club to ensure that lessons are learned. Any information received will be kept confidential and investigated. We are listening.
“The club is extremely disappointed to hear that Jack and his partner have this week been in receipt of threatening posts on social media. These have been reported to the relevant authorities for further investigation.
“Somerset County Cricket Club and Jack Brooks will be making no further comment on this matter.”