Yorkshire protecting the players by not being transparent about the investigation details: Azeem Rafiq
Former Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq vows to continue his fight against racism and accused the club of protecting the abusers during his stint with it. Azeem Rafiq's spokesperson backed his claims by issuing a statement and revealed that the club's investigations weren't transparent.
The Yorkshire County Cricket Club investigated the claims of racism and offered 'profound and unreserved apologies' on September 10. However, Rafiq wasn't satisfied with the investigations as the panel didn't have enough evidence to label the allegations as 'racial'.
My response to YCCC’s statement/report on that Friday morning at the cancellation of the the Test Match 👊🏽👊🏽
The fight continues … https://t.co/zrsX7uopWB
Azeem Rafiq blasted the county club for not accepting that their employee had been a victim of racial discrimination and blamed them for hiding details. Rafiq told the Daily Mail:
"In this country, when does anyone accept their employee has the been the victim of racial harassment and bullying? Hardly ever. So just imagine how bad that report must be in its entirety for them to have been left with no option."
The 31-year-old's spokesperson believes the club has protected the players and coach by refusing to name the individuals involved and claiming the cricketer's accusations are baseless. The statement read:
"Yorkshire is protecting the players and a coach who they now acknowledge used either racist language or were bullying. The club is intent on not naming them, yet has stated publicly that Azeem is wrong on some allegations without explaining why or on what basis."
It's incredibly exhausting on a lot of levels: Azeem Rafiq
The Pakistan-born cricketer stated that it's taxing to fight racism. However, he promised not to step down and keep the battle going. He said:
"An ex-Yorkshire player said to me, 'If you'd set out at the start to handle this badly, you couldn't have handled it as badly as Yorkshire have.' It's incredibly exhausting on a lot of levels. But I'm going to go down this path. I'm starting to come to an acceptance that this is my life, and I'm ready to give my life for it."
The off-spinner emerged with his claims of racism in September 2020 as it left him on the brink of suicide. Rafiq revealed his repeated complaints to the club went ignored and that he dreaded going to work. Former England cricketers, notably Joe Root, expressed his agitation at Rafiq's plight.