Joe Root says he has exchanged messages with Azeem Rafiq and hopes to have a chat with his former teammate after the Ashes tour; Root says there is a ‘great deal of sadness’ over what Rafiq experienced in Yorkshire and that England’s players are determined to end discrimination.
England Test captain Joe Root defends his statement that he cannot recall seeing any cases of racism in Yorkshire, but says he and cricket must learn from Azeem Rafiq’s allegations and the aftermath.
Former Yorkshire spinner Rafiq said Root’s denial of hearing racist language in Yorkshire was “hurtful” when he gave disturbing testimony to MPs about the abuse he suffered during two terms in Headingley.
Root says he has exchanged messages with Rafiq and plans a longer discussion with his former teammate once the Ashes series is completed in Australia.
England’s captain called Shannon Gabriel from the West Indies for using homophobic language in 2019, but admits that cricket still has a long way to go when it comes to tackling discrimination.
Root told reporters: “I stick to what I said. I don’t remember those cases. [at Yorkshire] And if they are careless on my part, then that is an area that we all have to learn from and that I have to learn from.
“I think about things that have happened since then. There have been things that have happened on a cricket ground where I feel like I’ve stepped in and yelled things out.”
“I think that comes from growth and learning, understanding and education. There is still more education that I have to pursue and develop further.
“Within our game, I think everyone does. There is a lot of work to be done, so much energy has to go into this and there has to be a real drive to make a real difference.
“Things have happened, especially in Yorkshire, that are unacceptable and that we have to learn from. We cannot change the past, but we can ensure that we move forward and shape the future.
“We must do everything possible to make the locker rooms within cricket – professional, international, club – as inclusive as possible so that no one feels they are treated differently. That has to start at the top of the game.
“I think there is a great deal of sadness [over what Rafiq went through] and a great deal of learning must be learned from that. We have to do everything we can to make sure we continue to find ways to make the game as diverse as possible and defend it. “
Root said an ongoing ECB investigation prevented him from discussing Rafiq’s allegation that Gary Ballance using the name ‘Kevin’ as a derogatory term for a person of color was an open secret in England’s locker room, though he said “that clearly that’s a phrase that you should never use anywhere in society. “
Root added that “horrible and uncomfortable” conversations had taken place during Ashes’ tour about the scale of discrimination within cricket and says England players are determined to play a significant role in tackling the problem.
He said: “I look at the group of players that are around this team and the other two England men’s teams and we’ve spent a lot of time talking about these issues, what has happened and how we can make a real difference.
“I feel like a lot of good conversations are going on that hopefully can now follow the action and that we can really start pushing the game forward from our position at the spearhead of the sport.”
“It is very uncomfortable and horrible to hear some of the stories about cricket and the experiences that some people have had. It is not an easy subject.
“We want to find ways to eradicate it. We have thought about how we can offer more. We are eager to develop, learn and educate ourselves.
“If there are ways as an England team that we can help society and use cricket as a vehicle to bring communities together, we will do absolutely everything we can to achieve that.
“You learn from each other and from different things your teammates experience, whether it’s things that happen in games,” the crowd said.
“You learn about the impact it has on the guys you care about and you think ‘how can we make a difference, how can we change things?’
“I’m not saying we’ve always done things completely right, we haven’t, but clearly we have to keep looking to improve, have those tough conversations that will make this process that much better and hopefully improve our game for everyone.” . “
The main English cricket bodies have promised a comprehensive overhaul of costume culture as part of a 12-point action plan to tackle the sport’s ongoing racism scandal.
Read the full story here and the 12 point plan below:
