Essex chief executive says he will not name people involved in racism allegations

Lina PortmanJune 4, 2024

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Image source, Characteristics of the Rex

Legend, John Stephenson played for Hampshire and Essex and a test match for England

33 minutes ago

Chief executive John Stephenson said Essex would never publicly name former players and staff who were involved in racist behavior.

The club was accused of breaching England and Wales Cricket Board rules relating to racist language or behavior between 2001 and 2010.

The matter will now be heard by an independent cricket disciplinary commission.

Stephenson told BBC Essex Sport that a decision on whether to admit the charge would be made at a board meeting later this week.

Essex commissioned its own investigation into these issues, resulting in a report by Katharine Newton KC, published in December, which concluded that a number of the club's former players were victims of racist insults and discriminatory treatment.

Jahid Ahmed, Maurice Chambers and Zoheb Sharif were among those whose allegations prompted the investigation, but the report did not identify any victims or perpetrators by name.

“This will never come out,” Stephenson said.

“We need to think about the well-being of individuals. We have followed a lot of advice on this in terms of data privacy and we will say no more.”

Stephenson has been chief executive of Chelmsford since autumn 2021, having previously worked for Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).

Following the Newton report, a committee was established to consider sanctions against those involved and Stephenson said they “now know where they stand”, without elaborating.

Meanwhile, Essex works with victims to “reintegrate” them into the club, he said.

“This is going to be an ongoing process,” Stephenson continued.

He said the accusation was something of a “relief” as the club now knows its possible fate.

“There are certainly concerns (about possible sanctions),” Stephenson added.

“It's hanging over our heads, but I would say we're in a pretty good position because of everything we've done over the last few years, the transparency we've shown, so there's a lot of mitigation and that’s what we’re going to do.” I go to meetings with it.”

Essex sit second in the County Championship Premier Division and any points deduction, if they admit guilt or are found guilty, could end their chances of winning the title for the first time since 2019.

Stephenson said: “Obviously we don't want this to determine the outcome of the Championship season, so I hope they take that into account as well.”