LONDON (AP) — Giving
testimony in tears, former cricketer Azeem Rafiq told a British parliamentary hearing on Tuesday that he was humiliated by the racist abuse and bullying he suffered at England’s most successful cricket club.
Rafiq said Yorkshire teammates used an offensive term referencing his Pakistani heritage, and the leadership at the 33-time winners of the English county championship failed to act on the racism.
“Pretty early on, me and other people from an Asian background,” Rafiq told a House of Commons select committee overseeing sport, “there were comments such as, ‘You lot sit there near the toilets,’ ‘Elephant washers.’ The word P(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk) was used constantly. And there just seemed to be an acceptance in the institution from the leaders and no one stamped it out.”
Rafiq, a former England Under-19 captain, said he felt “isolated, humiliated at times” by his treatment at Yorkshire during two spells playing for the club from 2008 to 2018.
The England and Wales Cricket Board has suspended Yorkshire from hosting international matches over its “wholly unacceptable” response to the racism faced by Rafiq.
Yorkshire said last month that it would not take any disciplinary action against any of its employees, players or executives despite a report that found Rafiq was the victim of racial harassment and bullying.
Rafiq told legislators he was being talked about as a captain of Yorkshire before reporting his concerns in 2017. Then Rafiq said board minutes said he was “a problem, a troublemaker and an issue that needs to be resolved.”
That followed a 2017 preseason tour when Rafiq said he suffered abuse from a teammate in front of others.