Chambers: I was left in tears and humiliated by racist bullying at Essex
Former England Lions seamer Maurice Chambers has become the latest ex-cricketer to publicly accuse former team-mates and coaches of racist bullying.
Chambers told The Cricketer he was called a “f---ing monkey”, taunted with bananas and forced to listen to discriminatory jokes while playing for Essex, who are now facing multiple allegations as part of the sport’s growing racism scandal.
The 34-year-old, who was born in Jamaica, said the abuse was so bad that he would go home and cry.
Northamptonshire were also dragged into the scandal. Chambers said, while he was playing there, someone openly sung along to rap music featuring the ‘n’ word.
The England and Wales Cricket Board said it was “appalled” and would investigate alongside other allegations to have engulfed Essex.
Recalling a team night out while sharing a house with another player, Chambers said: “The other player got pretty drunk. When I got home, he threw a banana down the stairs and said, ‘Climb for it, you f---ing monkey’.” Chambers said his abuser had to apologise after his mother reported the incident, but he still had to continue living with him.
He also said he was repeatedly taunted with bananas by a senior team-mate in front of a coach who would respond by laughing. “It was humiliating,” he said. “I would go home at the end of the day and cry.”
Chambers said a coach mocked him and another player of Afro-caribbean heritage for fumbling the ball and read out racist jokes in the dressing room.
He said he usually stayed silent for fear of “being seen as a troublemaker” or risking a new contract.
“I’ve been inspired by the example of Azeem Rafiq, and I want other players to have the courage to speak up,” he said. “We need to have a zero tolerance attitude to racism.”
Essex chief executive John Stephenson said he was “extremely disappointed” to issue a third statement in four days in response to allegations that have come to light.
Chairman John Faragher quit on Friday following claims – which he denies – he used the phrase “n----- in the woodpile” at a meeting in 2017.
The club later announced they were investigating accusations from Zoheb Sharif, 38, that he was called “bomber” and “curry muncher”.
Stephenson said the latest claims involved individuals no longer at Essex, but they would be investigated “rigorously”.
Northamptonshire said in a statement: “The club is disappointed to hear of Maurice’s experience, and this clearly goes against the expectation we hold for all Northamptonshire players and staff. We welcome the opportunity to talk directly with Maurice and any past player about their time with Northamptonshire and encourage them to reach out.”