Colin Graves insists he did not witness any racism during his tenure at Yorkshire

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ESPNcricinfo StaffJune 12, 2023, 12:163 min read

ECB President Colin GravesYorkshire CCC

Colin Graves, the former Yorkshire chairman, insists he never witnessed any instances of racism during his time at the helm, and instead doubled down on the suggestion raised in the club’s initial report on Azeem Rafiq’s 2021 allegations that regrettable words may have been used in the context of a locker room “joke”.

Graves served as Yorkshire chairman between 2012 and 2015, a period which coincided with Rafiq’s initial period at the club. And his comments come after Yorkshire admitted four amended charges relating to their handling of Rafiq’s allegations of racism and intimidation, with the penalties due on June 27.

“When I was chairman of the club, when some of these allegations were made, I can tell you now, nothing was raised within the club,” Graves told Sky Sports News.

“And I ran the club with an open door as chairman, players could come to me if they had any problems and they did that regularly…nothing was ever put on the table about any allegations of racism.

“I think there have been some weird occasions where words have been spoken that people might later regret,” he added. “I don’t think it was done on a racist, savage basis. I think there was a lot of – I know people don’t like the word joking – but I think there could have been a lot of jokes about it, and I know people don’t like it.”

Graves’ comments were swiftly condemned by the ECB, of which he served as president between 2015 and 2020.

“We are disappointed to see Colin Graves’ comments on historic racist issues at Yorkshire County Cricket Club,” the ECB said in a statement.

“We must never hear of stories like Azeem Rafiq’s again, where racial slurs are used as part of normalized everyday language.

“These events, along with many of the issues that Azeem and others encountered during their time at Yorkshire, have been confirmed on more than one occasion, including in proceedings overseen by the Cricket Disciplinary Committee.

“We vehemently disagree that this is just a ‘joke’ and believe that any debate in this regard should stop immediately. Racism is no joke.”

In an extensive interview, Graves also addressed Yorkshire’s financial situation, following his decision to withdraw from the race to return as Lord Kamlesh Patel’s successor to the presidency.

In 2002, Graves bailed out the club with a multimillion-pound loan, some £14.9 million of which is still owed to the Graves Family Trust. The club is due to repay 500,000 in October, with the rest to be repaid next year, and Graves had offered to help restructure that debt in return for a second term as chairman.

Last week, however, he withdrew his candidacy after criticizing the council’s time in appointing a successor to Lord Patel, who resigned in March.

“For all I know [Yorkshire] are going to run out of cash in September,” Graves said. ” Whether [a buyer or investor] doesn’t [come in]presumably the only way forward for them is to enter the administration.

“And when that happens – and I hope it doesn’t happen – if they go into administration, then the administrator will have to talk to the administrators of the trust, because the trust has the first legal charge on the ground .”

In response, the Yorkshire board insisted the club had ‘many positive conversations’ about investing – including, reportedly, with former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley , and the Saudi National Investment Fund – but insisted that “the club is not for sale”.

The ECB added: “Yorkshire are of central importance to cricket in England and Wales with a deep history and an ability to inspire and connect all cricket fans. They are currently working hard to resolve their issues. financial and cultural resources and the club, and its new management, have our full support.

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