MCC to offer anti-racism lessons as activists target ‘blazer brigade’

The MCC is to roll out anti-racism training for its staff and members, as campaigners attempt to educate the sport’s “blazer brigade”.

The club has drafted in Show Racism the Red Card, the UK’S largest anti-racism charity, to educate staff on structural racism, microaggressions and offensive language.

Plans to introduce the training were first conceived last summer, after the Black Lives Matter movement became a major force in British sport. The classes will begin this week, following a fresh round of racism allegations at Yorkshire.

Permanent and casual staff, board members and the club’s trustees will be invited to attend. Staff will take part in a two-hour classroom-style workshop, explaining the definition of racism, the use of language and racial slurs and how body language can be offensive.

Members of the club will also be sent a link to online anti-racist video training and will be reminded that they should report any racist incidents at matches to the club. Steve Goodsell, a regional manager for Show Racism the Red Card, who has been involved in the design of staff training, said English cricket had a problem with the “blazer brigade”.

“Cricket has been much slower than football to open its doors,” he said. “They have been dragging their heels for decades. I think it’s because of the make-up of the boardrooms and the blazer brigade, as they are referred to sometimes. The MCC has a very proactive board and new president, and some clubs are gradually waking up to this.”

Goodsell said cricket in general had an “unhealthy” culture that had begun a process of reform. “It’s the changing room culture and the boardroom culture which, left unchecked, is unhealthy,” he said.

He said sports clubs were scrambling to protect themselves from similar allegations amid fears they would lose sponsorship.

“They will be in panic mode,” he added.