Azeem Rafiq given green light to name everyone in cricket race row as Yorkshire chief urges Michael Vaughan to ‘engage’
AZEEM RAFIQ is free to name more players involved in the racism and bullying scandal.
Rafiq was effectively given licence to go public with his side of the story after Yorkshire settled his employment tribunal with no strings attached.
It followed a six-and-a-half-hour meeting over the weekend with new Yorkshire chair Lord Patel.
Former Yorkshire all-rounder Rafiq is due to appear at a Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee hearing on Monday.
Ashes-winning captain Michael Vaughan and ex-England batsman Gary Ballance have already admitted their names appear in a report into Rafiq’s allegations. More players are believed to be included.
Rafiq also repeated his claim that Yorkshire chief executive Mark Arthur and director of cricket Martyn Moxon should quit.
Patel, 61, who took over last Friday, said: “Azeem is a whistleblower and should be praised, he should never have been put through this.
“We’re sorry for what you and your family have experienced and the way in which we’ve handled this. Why would we do this to any human being?
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“I thank Azeem for his bravery in speaking out. Let me be clear - racism or discrimination in any form is not banter.
“Absolutely no restrictions have been placed on what Azeem can or cannot say about his experiences. The settlement does not involve a non-disclosure agreement.”
Patel hopes his mission to change attitudes at Yorkshire will in time persuade the ECB to overturn their decision to suspend international matches at Headingley.
Kamlesh Patel was born in Kenya and moved to the UK when aged one and described himself as a 'proud Yorkshireman'.
He revealed as a child he had to run away from gangs of skinheads to avoid being beaten up in what he described as 'P*** bashing'.
Patel is setting up a whistleblowing hotline as a 'safe place' for others affected by racism to speak.
He said that members of staff at Headingley have received death threats and he is already talking to sponsors who withdrew their support for Yorkshire.
Patel will wait before deciding whether to sack any members of staff. But he warned: “I’m a kind and compassionate man but I’m not a shrinking violet.
"If anyone here thinks ‘P***’ is banter, then the front door is down there. Appropriate sanctions, where necessary, will have to happen.”
This is a good start but I want to reiterate my call for the change that must come next.
Azeem Rafiq
And his message to Vaughan, who denies any racist comments but refused to give evidence to Yorkshire’s original investigation on legal advice, is: “Please engage in the process now because I’ll ensure it’s done in a fair and appropriate manner.”
Rafiq issued a statement, saying: “I want to thank Lord Patel for making the offer and sorting this out within 72 hours of his appointment.
"It should not have taken the rest of the club a year to realise I would not be silenced through an NDA.
“This is a good start but I want to reiterate my call for the change that must come next.
"Mark Arthur, Martyn Moxon and many of those in the coaching staff have been part of the problem.
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“They have consistently failed to take responsibility for what happened on their watch and must go.
"I urge them to do the right thing and resign to make way for those who will do what is needed for the club’s future.”
