Root: Rafiq saga shows cricket must act
JOE ROOT finds the pain of Azeem Rafiq ‘hard to see’ and has called on everyone involved in cricket to play a part in making it more inclusive in the wake of his former team-mate’s claims of institutional racism during his time at Yorkshire.
The England captain will lead his team in their now customary ‘moment of unity’ when the third Test against India starts at Headingley tomorrow, standing together against discrimination.
This gesture at Yorkshire’s ground will be a focus of attention given the controversy engulfing the club. Yorkshire last week apologised to Rafiq, accepting he had been a ‘victim of inappropriate behaviour’ and indicating ‘several of the allegations made by Azeem were upheld’ by an independent investigation they commissioned last year.
That report has been delivered to Yorkshire but has yet to be published and Rafiq has accused his former employers of ‘fudging’ the issue and ‘playing with your words’.
Root said: ‘I can’t really speculate or comment too much on a report I have not seen but, as a former team-mate and friend, it’s hard to see Azeem hurting as he is. More than anything, it just shows that there is a lot of work we have to do in the game.
‘It’s a societal issue. We have seen it in other sports, in other areas. We have got to keep trying to find ways of making sure this isn’t a conversation that keeps happening.
‘We have got to find ways of creating more opportunities, making our game more diverse, educate better. I don’t think that just comes from players and administrators – that is from everyone in the game. There has got to be a want and a will to do that and it is something we have to prioritise as a sport.’
Root confirmed the moment of unity would continue, adding: ‘We have to keep showing that we need to create opportunities to show the sport is for everyone.
‘Hopefully through small things we can do on the field and around the game, but we have to do more, I get that. We’re very keen on doing more.’