Star was ‘ripped to shreds’ just days after wife lost baby
AZEEM Rafiq fought back tears as he recalled the moment he was “ripped to shreds” just days after he and his wife suffered a miscarriage.
Rafiq told the DCMS select committee hearing that when he lost a child, Yorkshire CCC ‘s handling of the issue was “inhuman”.
“At the end of 2017, we had a really difficult pregnancy.
“Through that time, the treatment that I received from some of the club officials was inhuman.
“They weren’t really bothered about the fact that I was at training one day and I got a phone call to say there’s no heartbeat.”
Rafiq said he was painted as a “troublemaker” by several senior staff members, which he believes clouded their judgement.
“I feel that blinded them into how they treated me through the pregnancy and the loss of my son.
“My first day back after losing my son, Martyn Moxon (director of cricket) literally got me in a room and ripped the shreds off me.
“I’ve never seen him speak to anyone like that through my time at the club. I couldn’t believe it.” Rafiq said the way the incident was handled prompted him to speak out about the “institutional racism” at the club.
“It was only around the back end of 2017 – when I lost my son – I went: ‘Hold on a minute’.
“I’d seen other players have family tragedies and get support beyond measure.
“I’d just carried my son from the hospital to the graveyard and how I’m getting treated here is not right. To me it became very clear that even myself, I’d been looking the other way.”
Rafiq eventually left Yorkshire in 2018, soon after he and his wife went through their personal tragedy.