Ahead of his impending return to the Yorkshire County Cricket Club, Colin Graves has apologized for his racism there. The former chairman of Yorkshire will rejoin the county team after the English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) granted a loan request from a group that includes the 75-year-old. He was notably the club’s employee from 2012 to 2015.
Yorkshire will get a GBP 400,000 fine and 48 points taken away from them in the 2023 County Championship after the ECB’s Cricket Discipline Commission found that the club had tolerated racism and prejudice for 17 years. An earlier report by whistleblower Azeem Rafiq, an all-round player, detailed racism within the team. Graves apologized after initially refusing to provide any information about it.
“The errors have to be admitted and corrected. I sincerely and personally apologize to everyone who was subjected to racism at Yorkshire County Cricket Club. According to a statement released by Graves, it is unacceptable to discriminate against or mistreat someone based on their race, ethnicity, or any other protected trait.
“When questioned about the incidents that happened when I was chairman, I was asked after I had left the club, and I sincerely apologize for some of the words I used. For those who took my remarks to be callous or indifferent, I recognize and feel your pain. In order to make sure Yorkshire County Cricket Club stays true to the communities it represents, I’m willing to go above and beyond. Without a shared dedication to upholding the greatest professional standards both on and off the field, the club cannot and will not prosper,” he continued.
We appreciate Colin Graves promise to carry on with this work. ECB
The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB), who intend to rename Colin Graves as their chairman, applauded the Yorkshire announcement in a statement.
“The ECB has taken note of the Yorkshire County Cricket Club’s announcement from today. We understand that the club’s leadership decided that this approach was their only practical way to address the current state of affairs and put the organization on a sustainable foundation. We have been in constant contact with the club’s leadership as it has attempted to address serious financial issues.
In recent years, Yorkshire Cricket Club and cricket in general have undertaken commendable work to address discrimination and promote inclusivity in the game. It is imperative that this work continues. We are pleased to see Colin Graves stick with this project, offer an unconditional apology, and accept the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket’s (ICEC) conclusions. In the event that members of Yorkshire agree to this accord, these phrases must be implemented.
“Moreover, the European Central Bank (ECB) keeps up its continuous responsibility to guarantee efficient governance control throughout the broader game. If Yorkshire County Cricket Club doesn’t keep up the reform and advancement we have witnessed over the past few years, there are also considerable powers that can be used to make it accountable, the ECB stated in an official statement.
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