New Yorkshire County Cricket Club Chairman apologises to Azeem Rafiq
Lord Patel says "Azeem is a whistleblower and should be praised as such"
Last updated 8th Nov 2021
The new Chairman of Yorkshire County Cricket Club says they need to learn from their mistakes - and has apologised to former player Azeem Rafiq and his family.
Lord Kamlesh Patel was appointed on Friday (5th November). It follows allegations of racism from Rafiq, and criticism over the way Yorkshire handled the claims.
Last week the England and Wales Cricket Board announced Yorkshire were suspended from hosting international and major games.
Speaking at a press conference at Headingley, Lord Patel said: "Azeem is a whistleblower and should be praised as such, 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.
"I thank Azeem for his bravery in speaking out. Let me be clear from the outset, racism or discrimination in any form is not banter."
Patel added: "Absolutely no restrictions have been placed on Azeem on what he can or cannot say about his experiences.
"The settlement does not involve a non-disclosure agreement."
Patel said he was also commissioning a specialist independent review of the county's processes and procedures on diversity and inclusion.
Patel was asked whether he was proud of Yorkshire.
"We're going to be proud of it from this moment onwards because we're going to accept that wrong decisions have been made," he said.
Patel said he had spoken with Rafiq for six and a half hours since his appointment as chair on Friday.
"It was difficult and it was actually quite sad. It was tough for me, it was incredibly tough for him," he said.
"You did feel 'why would we do this to any human being'?"
Patel said he had asked Rafiq to "sit on his shoulder" and "challenge him" on how he handles matters from this point onwards and added: "It would be a shame not to work together to seek his help to find a way forward."