Another Asian player from Yorkshire County Cricket Club complained about racism and how he was ill-treated by a white player. The player was a victim of several racial cases of abuse in the early 2000s. He stated how a white teammate urinated on him from a hotel room. The club which is still in a bad light due to Azeem Rafiq’s affair has promised to look into the matter. The player further added that he experienced racism directly and indirectly from the club members.
He has requested not to be named since he does not desire his family to know about the sufferings he endured in those years.
He even stated that Yorkshire County Cricket Club is seen as a racist club by the Asian community, yet somehow they manage to remove all the allegations.
Azeem Rafiq’s accusations against the club
The club is under pressure since it was revealed that batsman Garry Ballance once called Azeem Rafiq a p***- which the club described as “friendly and good-natured banter” On Wednesday Ballance apologized since the sponsors started cutting off the ties with the club. Michael Vaughan disclosed that he was another one accused by Rafiq but he denied the racism claim made against him.
Vaughan, who played for Yorkshire in his entire career from 1993 to 2009, became an advisory member at the club after he retired.
He further added that he warned Rafiq and the other two Asian players about the racism that takes place in the club since there were too many players of the heritage.
‘This hit me very hard. It was like being struck over the head with a brick. I have been involved in cricket for 30 years and have never once been accused of any remotely similar incident or disciplinary offence as a player or commentator. I completely and categorically deny that I ever said those words.’ Those were his words.
Racism the Asian players had to deal with in the club
The unnamed player said once he overheard ‘senior players’ —talk about ‘how they “sh**ged a bird” in the hotel room who was on her period and made a mess, and cleaned it with a Muslim player’s prayer mat. The saddest part is those players are still involved with the club and people look up to them.
The coaches always avoided these matters. They justified themselves by saying “how could they be racist to so many Asian players? We have X amount of Asians on our books.”
As per reports, the club has apologized to Azeem Rafiq. Yet he again accused his teammates of torturing him during practice sessions. He stated the teammates would purposely throw balls very hard from a close range that bruised his hands through the gloves.
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