The former Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq has taken the world by storm in recent weeks as he exposed the racism that still exists in England. He told the world about how he was pinned down in a car and forced to drink red wine. Then he also mentioned how players like him with Asian backgrounds were made to sit near the toilet. On Tuesday, he leveled a new allegation, this time against the former England batsman Alex Hales.
According to the reports of Reuters, Rafiq alleged that his former teammate Gary Ballance always used Kevin as a derogatory term for teammates. And that Alex Hales has a dog named Kevin just because it is a black animal. These allegations speaks volumes about the kind of environment players have to endure outside and sometimes even on the field of cricket.
Alex Hales, however, has outrightly denied all the allegations and that the name of his dog has no “racial connotation.” The opener added, “I entirely respect and have huge sympathy for both the stance Azeem Rafiq has taken and what he has had to endure. His evidence was harrowing. There is no place for racism or discrimination of any kind in cricket, and I will gladly co-operate with any investigation…” reports Reuters. The Nottinghamshire club, to which Hales belong, also put out a statement following this allegation. In that statement, they said they would conduct a thorough investigation of the matter from their end.
Earlier, David Lloyd had taken it to Twitter to apologize for his comments on the Asian Cricket Community. On Wednesday, even British Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised Rafiq for his “brave testimony” and wrote that there’s no excuse for racism in society. He called for swift and adequate action from the English and Yorkshire cricket board.
