Cricketer reveals extent of racism
Azeem Rafiq tells MPS about harrowing abuse he suffered
YORKSHIRE whistleblower Azeem Rafiq has laid bare the full extent of his harrowing experience of racism in cricket during an explosive and emotional appearance in front of MPS.
Rafiq has been waiting to air his full allegations in the public arena and Tuesday’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee hearing offered him the chance to speak with the protection of parliamentary privilege - a freedom he used to issue a raft of previously unheard claims.
As well as going into disturbing details of his time at Headingley, the 30-year-old took his accusations close to the top of the game, suggesting racially derogatory use of the term ‘Kevin’ by former team-mate Gary Ballance was “an open secret in the England dressing room”. He further alleged that another former England batter, Alex Hales, had given a dog the name because it was black.
Rafiq’s voice cracked and he fought back tears on several occasions, but he spoke with clarity and resolve for almost an hour and 40 minutes, interrupted only by one brief adjournment when emotion got the better of him.
Rafiq concluded that racial discrimination, and his decision to take a stand against it, had cost him his career in a sport that he feels has ingrained problems above and beyond his own story.
Most graphically of all, Rafiq revealed that as an aspiring 15-year-old club cricketer he had been restrained while red wine was poured down his throat by a former Yorkshire and Hampshire player.
Asked if he could identify a single individual who had stood up for him or called out acts of racism at the time, he was unable to summon a name, adding: “You had people who were openly racist and you had the bystanders. No one felt it was important.”
More than once, he said his mission was to shine a light on systemic patterns of discrimination and act as “the voice of the voiceless”.
In terms of specifics, Rafiq was clear that the word ‘P***’ was used “constantly” at Yorkshire and in the wider game, said he had heard the phrase “elephant washer” and experienced offensive references to corner shops. Ballance, he added, told another colleague not to speak to Rafiq because “he’s not a Sheikh, he hasn’t got oil”.
Rafiq revisited longstanding grievances against Yorkshire’s former chief executive Mark Arthur, director Martyn Moxon and ex-england captain Michael Vaughan.
He described how Moxon, who is currently signed off sick with a stress-related illness, “got me in a room and literally ripped shreds off me” on his return to the club after the stillbirth of his son. Later, he said an official complaint about bullying in 2017 directly led to his subsequent release, for fear that he may continue to raise issues around his treatment.