Rafiq sorry for anti-semitic messages
⮞ Racism whistleblower is ‘ashamed’ about offensive posts ⮞ Hales tries to explain picture of him in blackface from 2009
Azeem Rafiq apologised yesterday for using anti-semitic slurs in an exchange of messages with another cricketer.
Rafiq admitted sending messages more than a decade ago in which he joked about a Derbyshire player, Atif Sheikh, being reluctant to spend money on a meal out because “he is a Jew”. He added that Sheikh would “probs go after my 2nds [second helping of food] again ha”, adding: “Only Jews do tht [sic] sort of s---.”
In his apology yesterday, the 30-year-old said: “I was sent an image of this exchange from early 2011 today. I have gone back to check my account and it is me. I have absolutely no excuses.
“I am ashamed of this exchange and have now deleted it so as not to cause further offence. I was 19 at the time and I hope and believe I am a different person today. I am incredibly angry at myself and I apologise to the Jewish community and everyone who is rightly offended by this.
“At no point will I ever try and defend the indefensible. For those I have hurt I am sincerely sorry. I will continue to front up and own any more mistakes I have made.”
Rafiq added that Sheikh had accepted an apology when he had spoken to him by telephone.
Rafiq also later apologised for sharing a meme on social media in 2017 containing a derogatory joke relating to African people. He said it “was a matter of stupidity but the harm is the same as overt racism so that is no excuse”.
The messages to Ateeq Javid were leaked less than 48 hours after Rafiq gave harrowing testimony at the Houses of Parliament about the racism scandal, weeping as he told MPS how the abuse he suffered had cost him his career – and nearly his life.
Rafiq conceded at the time he “wasn’t perfect” and had made mistakes of his own during his career.
Claudia Mendoza, co-chief executive of the Jewish Leadership Council, said of his anti-semitic messages: “There’s no doubt that this is massively awkward for Azeem Rafiq but he’s taken full ownership, apologised, and undoubtedly – through his own experiences – learnt a lot about racism since then.”
Alex Hales was facing fresh allegations last night after a picture emerged showing him in blackface at a New Year’s Eve party in Nottingham in 2009.
Hales attempted to explain the photograph as a tribute to American rapper Tupac Shakur. “I dressed in tribute to my musical hero, Tupac Shakur, someone who I’ve admired from childhood,” the former England batsman said. The England and Wales Cricket Board say they will investigate the picture, published in The Sun. It is the second time Hales has been dragged into the scandal after Rafiq claimed the Nottinghamshire player named his dog “Kevin”, a racist slur against non-white people coined by Gary Ballance, something he denies.
A panel appointed by Yorkshire as
part of an investigation into Rafiq’s claims the club were institutionally racist had earlier found Rafiq guilty of racial abuse by calling team-mate Ballance, who was born in Zimbabwe, “Zimbo”. However, this finding was widely condemned, including by former Zimbabwe captain Heath Streak, who said it was no different to calling someone from Australia an “Aussie” and someone from New Zealand a “Kiwi”.
The same five-strong panel, which included three British Asians, also found Ballance calling Rafiq a “P---” had been “banter”, which he was not entitled to be offended by.
The cricketer Rafiq admitted exchanging messages with, former Leicestershire player Javid, did not respond to requests for comment. Screenshots of the exchange appear to show Javid using the words “jew s---”.
There were further apologies yesterday in the on-going scandal after Jack Brooks, Somerset’s former Yorkshire bowler, was reprimanded for using discriminatory language on social media in 2012 and for giving Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara his nickname, “Steve”. Brooks used the word “negro” in a conversation on Twitter nine years ago with England bowler Tymal Mills and Stewart Laudat, with whom he played minor counties cricket for Oxfordshire. The tweets were sent when Brooks played for Northamptonshire.
Brooks apologised publicly and in private to Pujara for calling him “Steve” when he played for Yorkshire, which featured in Rafiq’s evidence to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport select committee.
In a statement yesterday morning, he 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.”