EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) – The board of Cricket Scotland resigned on Sunday ahead of the publication of an independent report into racism.
A review was conducted after Scotland’s all-time leading wicket-taker, Majid Haq, told British broadcaster Sky Sports that Cricket Scotland was “institutionally racist”, while former teammate Qasim Sheikh said he had also suffered racist abuse.
Aamer Anwar, the lawyer representing the two players, told Sky the report could prove “devastating” for Cricket Scotland.
The governing body said it was “truly sorry” to anyone who was abused while playing the sport. The report will be released Monday.
"There is no two sides to a story when it comes to racism."
Former cricketer Azeem Rafiq got emotional testifying before UK lawmakers about his experience with racial harassment and bullying in the sport. pic.twitter.com/J1g3UYiVtY
— DW News (@dwnews) November 18, 2021
In a statement reacting to the resignation of the board, Cricket Scotland said it will “work in partnership with [government agency] sportscotland with immediate effect to ensure appropriate governance, leadership and support is in place for the organization and the sport in the days ahead.”
The resignation letter from the outgoing board referred to the review being “truly transformative, not just for Cricket Scotland but the sport of cricket” and said it would “provide a watershed moment for Scottish sport and society in general.”
The outgoing board repeated its apology, but said that despite taking steps to improve the governance of Cricket Scotland, it could not meet the timescale of actions the report will recommend.
“Consequently, we believe we must now step aside to enable the required progress to be made in the coming months,” the board said.
Is anyone going to investigate this new aspect to the story? Is Rafiq going to explain where his anti-Semitic beliefs came from? Are THESE beliefs prevalent among Asian cricketers in the same way other racist beliefs are prevalent among whites? #JewsDontCount @Baddiel https://t.co/PIEQgOPFYM
— Paul Kendall (@paul__kendall) November 18, 2021
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