“Deafening silence from them speaks volumes” - Majid Haq hits out at Scotland players for failing to react on racism report 

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Scotland players take a knee during the T20 World Cup last year. Pic: Getty Images

Former Scottish cricketer Majid Haq has hit out at Scotland players for refusing to speak out after a recent independent review found Cricket Scotland to be "institutionally racist". He also questioned the move of players taking a knee before a game to protest racism, terming it as mere tokenism.

Cricket Scotland found itself at the centre of a major controversy on Monday (July 27) after an independent review concluded that its governance and leadership practices were "institutionally racist".

The review was commissioned after Haq and his former teammate Qasim Sheikh opened up about the harassment they faced. The duo claimed that they were treated indifferently due to the color of their skin.

Taking to his official Twitter handle, Haq and Sheikh’s lawyer Aamer Anwar questioned the hypocrisy of Scotland's players. He pointed out that they took a knee at the T20 World Cup last year, but have refused to speak up after the recent racism report. His tweet read:

“Dear Scotland’s Cricket Team & Capt @Berrington44 What makes you all so silent? Shameful that white team members have said little or nothing on damning report on racism @CricketScotland but you were happy to take the knee in 2021🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏏.”

Aamer Anwar✊🏾🏳️‍🌈#BlackLivesMatter

@AamerAnwar

Dear Scotland’s Cricket Team & Capt @Berrington44 What makes you all so silent? Shameful that white team members have said little or nothing on damning report on racism @CricketScotland but you were happy to take the knee in 2021🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏏

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Dear Scotland’s Cricket Team & Capt @Berrington44 What makes you all so silent? Shameful that white team members have said little or nothing on damning report on racism @CricketScotland but you were happy to take the knee in 2021🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏏 https://t.co/FfJTCDXxSc

He posted a few other tweets, questioning the Scotland players' silence on the racism report. Responding to one of Anwar’s tweets, Haq wrote:

“Looks like it was nothing other than a bit of virtue signalling & tick box exercise because the deafening silence from a lot of them speaks volumes. They might feel uncomfortable but their privilege is never having to think you’ll not make the team because of racism.”

Majid Haq

@MajidHaq

Looks like it was nothing other than a bit of virtue signalling & tick box exercise because the deafening silence from a lot of them speaks volumes. They might feel uncomfortable but their privilege is never having to think you’ll not make the team because of racism. twitter.com/aameranwar/sta…

Aamer Anwar✊🏾🏳️‍🌈#BlackLivesMatter

@AamerAnwar

What was the point of Scotland ‘taking the knee’ at ICC T20 World Cup in 2021, when no white team member has chosen to say anything much or at all over the last few days on institutional racism @CricketScotland Silence is a not an option, anti-racism not non-racism 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏏

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What was the point of Scotland ‘taking the knee’ at ICC T20 World Cup in 2021, when no white team member has chosen to say anything much or at all over the last few days on institutional racism @CricketScotland Silence is a not an option, anti-racism not non-racism 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏏 https://t.co/Ctik5sHNqC

Looks like it was nothing other than a bit of virtue signalling & tick box exercise because the deafening silence from a lot of them speaks volumes. They might feel uncomfortable but their privilege is never having to think you’ll not make the team because of racism. twitter.com/aameranwar/sta…

A day before the report was published, the board of Cricket Scotland apologized and resigned. Interim CEO Gordon Arthur has issued an apology to all victims of racism and discrimination.

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Majid Haq’s record for Scotland

Haq, 39, played 54 ODIs and 21 T20Is for Scotland between 2006 and 2015. With his off spin, he claimed 60 and 28 wickets in ODIs and T20Is, respectively. He also scored 566 runs, including three fifties, in the 50-over format.

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