England cricket captain Vaughan acquitted of racism

Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan was cleared by a disciplinary panel on Friday to make a racist remark to a group of Yorkshire teammates of ethnic Asian descent in 2009, the latest stage in a scandal that has cast a cloud over England’s game.

However, other former players were found to have used racist or discriminatory language in a scandal that erupted when former Yorkshire player Azeem Rafiq went public in 2020 and said he had been the victim of racial harassment and bullying during two spells in English cricket. successful club in 2008-18.

Among his accusations, heard in tearful testimony in the British Parliament and resulted in Yorkshire losing sponsors and briefly the right to host international matches, Rafiq accused Vaughan of telling Rafiq and other Asian teammates that there were too many of you, we need to talk about it. Vaughan was said to have commented on the sidelines of a Twenty20 match.

Vaughan categorically denied the remarks, and the charge against him by the England and Wales Cricket Board was dismissed after an independent commission published the findings of a hearing in which Vaughan and other Yorkshire players were accused of making historic racist and discriminatory remarks.

The panel is not satisfied on the balance of probabilities that MV (Michael Vaughan) said those words at the time and in the particular circumstances alleged, read part of the 82-page judgment covering the whole case.

Vaughan, who captained England’s Ashes-winning team in 2005 and is one of the most prominent figures in English cricket, said on Twitter the last few years have been incredibly difficult times in my life.

At times this process has brought me to the brink of falling out of love with cricket, he wrote, adding that he hopes that a comprehensive healing process can now begin for English cricket.

Yorkshire launched the inquiry in 2020 As a result of Rafiqs accusations of institutional racism at the club, which made him feel suicidal. Yorkshire, a team from the north of England who are a record 33-time winners of the county championship, later apologized for saying Rafiq was a victim of racial harassment and bullying.

Seven of Rafiqs 43 claims were upheld in a report commissioned by Yorkshire, but the full version of the report was not published and did not lead to any disciplinary action by the club’s hierarchy.

As a result, the ECB decided to bring defamation charges against seven people, including Vaughan, who had previous links to the Yorkshire Cricket Club. The club was also charged.

Vaughan was the only person to appear in person at the Cricket Discipline Commission hearing in London, which began in early March.

In a statement on Friday, Vaughan said the verdict must not be allowed to undermine the core message that racism has no place in cricket or society in general.

And the CDC said the findings in no way undermine Rafiq’s wider claims, many of which have of course been corroborated by the admissions of both the YCCC (Yorkshire) and specific individuals.

This was reflected in the panel’s acceptance of some of the ECB’s charges against other former Yorkshire players accused of using racist and/or discriminatory language while at the club, including Tim Bresnan, Matthew Hoggard, Andrew Gale, Richard Pyrah and John Blain. They were found guilty of breaching an ECB directive on conduct prejudicial to the interests of cricket and bringing the game into disrepute and have 14 days to appeal the CDC’s decision.

Another, former England batsman Gary Ballance, previously admitted the charges against him.

Sanctions will be imposed later.

In a Twitter post reacting to the panel’s findings, Rafiq stressed that charges against seven of the eight defendants were upheld and that previous investigations had shown he had been subjected to bullying and racial harassment in Yorkshire.

The question has never been about individuals, but about the game as a whole, he wrote. Cricket needs to understand the extent of its problems and address them.

Hopefully the structures of the game can now be rebuilt and institutionalized racism will end once and for all. It’s time to reflect, learn and implement change.

The scandal led to massive soul-searching in English cricket, primarily regarding its inclusivity and dressing room culture, and a huge change in Yorkshire’s leadership.

After several renovations and the replacement of people in key roles, it was restored as an international venue.

In the wake of the scandal, the ECB created an anti-discrimination unit, conducted a review of dressing room culture in England’s men’s and women’s teams, and made a financial commitment of £25 million (then $33.3 million) over five years to support remedial efforts. equality, diversity and inclusion. Improving the diversity of boardrooms was one of the goals, as well as helping people from different backgrounds develop into professional teams.

ECB President Richard Thompson said Rafiq had exposed a side of our game that no one should have to experience.

Given the nature of these cases, Thompson said they have taken a definite toll on everyone involved. Now must be a time of reconciliation, when we as a game can learn together and heal the wounds and make sure that nothing like this can ever happen again. ___

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