English Test skipper Joe Root came out with a strong and vehement message against the Yorkshire County Cricket Club’s recent report with regards to the racism allegations. Azeem Rafiq, the off-spinner who represented for nearly 10 years in his professional career, had complained about the series of racist remarks launched at him by a senior member in the Yorkshire team.
It was later revealed that the senior player involved in the scandal was Gary Balance, who has admitted using racist slurs against his teammates. However, the report submitted by YCCC suggested that the comments on Rafiq were just “banter”, and should not be taken seriously. This report from the club received criticism of enormous proportions, leading to YCCC losing many sponsors and international hosting rights.
Also read 👉 Yorkshire racism report rules out word “P*ki” as banter after Rafiq’s complaint
Joe Root, who has been with the club since 2009, opened up on the incident with a statement across his social media profiles. He said that the club must develop a culture where diversity is accepted wholeheartedly, and there should be support from the club to cricketers from different nationalities, communities and religion.
The 30-year-old mentioned that cricketers and people involved within the club must be educated further, and said his team have remained collective in promoting inclusivity, diversity and anti-discrimination over the past few years.
“In my capacity as England captain and as a senior player at Yorkshire, I feel compelled to address the current situation that has consumed the sport and YCCC.
I just want the sport to be a place where everyone is enjoying it for the beautiful game it is and feels equal and safe. It hurts knowing this has happened at YCCC so close to home. It’s my club that I care passionately about.
There is no debate about racism, no one side or the other. It is simply intolerable. These events have fractured our game and torn lives apart,”
Root mentioned in his statement.
The English unit will now be making their way to Australia for the highly-anticipated Ashes series. In his statement, Root also asked for the fans to unite in these tough times and offer their support to the team, as they will be playing for all of them in a bid to bring Urn back.
