Cricket-Match-Special ... A forum for discussion

This mornings revelations coming out about Yorkshire are frankly abysmal and embarrassing for the game in the UK as a whole.

The punishments need to be harsh for all of the people involved. How an Asian player could be told the P word was acceptable banter and that he himself was a racist..... unbelievable this occurred in 2010s

blimey... have Yorkshire finally done what the judge told them to do and actually published (albeit about a fortnight too late)?

a miracle!

I was beginning to think that the Yorkshire hierarchy believed they were above the law. I shall have to have a look


In other news, Matt Prior has had a right old go at the Sussex hierarchy
https://www.thecricketer.com/Topics/cou ... ndrew.html

sussexpob wrote:This mornings revelations coming out about Yorkshire are frankly abysmal and embarrassing for the game in the UK as a whole.

The punishments need to be harsh for all of the people involved. How an Asian player could be told the P word was acceptable banter and that he himself was a racist..... unbelievable this occurred in 2010s

I choked a bit on the Tory politicians criticising Yorkshire when endemic anti-Islamic racism (and other) is ignored in their own party.

Arthur Crabtree wrote:

sussexpob wrote:This mornings revelations coming out about Yorkshire are frankly abysmal and embarrassing for the game in the UK as a whole.

The punishments need to be harsh for all of the people involved. How an Asian player could be told the P word was acceptable banter and that he himself was a racist..... unbelievable this occurred in 2010s

I choked a bit on the Tory politicians criticising Yorkshire when endemic anti-Islamic racism (and other) is ignored in their own party.

Pot calling the kettle black?

Gary Ballance apologised for his role in the racism.

Ballance's response is baffling to me. This whole "we were best pals" nonsense if anything just feeds into some faux belief that its ok to say these things if they are indeed banter. One of the panel members told the DT that if Yorkshire gave all the details it would make sense, which is equally baffling. I fail to see how any context can make this acceptable use of language, and there is obviously a reason why Yorkshire wont release the details as they know the optics is going to be disastrous.

Meanwhile, Yorkshires main two sponsors pull out.

Ballance being an international cricketer in a dressing room of international talent is going to leave a lot of questions about others. The fact this happened when Graves was running Yorkshire, who ended at the ECB head, also make this stick all the way up.

According to Rafiq they were calling him 'kaffir' a Southern African term for black people.

For me, that incident of the England players giving James Taylor a child's bat is the same sort of bullying by banter that the perpetrators kid themselves is fun, but is actually pretty hurtful. And it's hard for the subject to disapprove without it looking like they are the problem. People shouldn't even think this is ok at school. The victim laughs along and normalises the bullying.

Arthur Crabtree wrote:For me, that incident of the England players giving James Taylor a child's bat is the same sort of bullying by banter that the perpetrators kid themselves is fun, but is actually pretty hurtful. And it's hard for the subject to disapprove without it looking like they are the problem. People shouldn't even think this is ok at school. The victim laughs along and normalises the bullying.

Indeed. Well put.

I guess that's why Ballance's response seems so dimwitted. If you were indeed Rafiq's close friend, then surely a bit of empathy about how your choice of language might be of acute offence would not be misplaced, and being someone's friend does not excuse such language as acceptable. I cant think of a single non-white, non-straight, non-cisgender people I know that would accept in the slightest me selecting particular insult directed at them and them thinking that was ok because we were friends. In fact, I would expect that all of them would be more offended with me than anyone else.

But that sense of naivety is hard to accept or understand. Ballance's response is very much in line with your explanation - we were mates, if he has a problem with being called a P word, then its his problem, and not me.

Yorks now suspended from hosting Tests until they can demonstrate acceptable standards.

The ECB does nothing until public opinion forces them to act.

ZBGB suspended from playing for England...

Several major sponsors have dropped Yorkshire CCC. Add in the threatened loss of international and high profile matches and the further risk of financial sanctions to come and Yorkshire will be severely hit in the pocket.... which, sadly, is always the only place where it hurts

Feels to me like Yorkshire have pushed Ballance to the front and centre of this to take as much flak as possible while the board hide behind him in their sacrificial robes

as for the ECB.... it's almost as if Colin Graves wasn't around in his impartial capacity as head honcho anymore Sanctions against Yorkshire are almost certainly disgusting and would never have happened on his watch

Arthur Crabtree wrote: ZBGB suspended from playing for England...

Did they fine him one million old Turkish Lira too? Because that would have been equally pointless.

sussexpob wrote:

Arthur Crabtree wrote: ZBGB suspended from playing for England...

Did they fine him one million old Turkish Lira too? Because that would have been equally pointless.

Quite.

How the Yorkshire board thought they could get away with 'nothing to see here' when the report found clear evidence of racial abuse is astounding, and just goes to show how institutionalised the whole thing must be. Either they were kidding themselves that no-one would notice, or they really are so institutionally racist they thought that the 'banter' claims would fly and the public would accept that 'a bit of fun between mates' makes it somehow ok. Not impossible they would have gotten away with that line of thinking 20 years ago, but not in 2021, where society is thankfully much less tolerant of racism. Still a long way to go, obviously.

The 'good natured banter' get out was crazy. Where have these people been.

Vaughan next in the firing line.

The report says Rafiq accused him of saying "there's too many of you lot here" (to a group of Asian lads) .... Vaughan strongly denies the allegations.

Must be true because Vaughan didn't end his press release trying to flog any Gin. Something's not right

Twitter now digging up his old tweets about Muslims needing to sift their own communities for bombers and what not. These allegations might not be true (although it's reported they are confirmed in the investigation by more than one person as a a witness).... But I can't see how Vaughan escapes this with his commentary job intact.

Maybe he will learn to shut his mouth now in the future. Or enjoy a delicious glass of declaration gin while retiring.