Essex cricket accused of failing to respond to alleged 'systemic' racist language and behavior

CHELMSFORD, England — Essex County has been accused by England's cricket regulator of failing to respond to alleged “systemic” racist language and behavior within the club over a decade.

“The cricket regulator alleges that there was a systemic use of racist and/or discriminatory language and/or behavior in Essex, during the period between 2001 and 2010, to which Essex did not has failed to remedy,” the cricket regulator said in a statement. Monday.

Essex said on Monday that it had fully co-operated with the cricket regulator and intended to “participate voluntarily” with the cricket disciplinary committee which will hear the matter on dates yet to be decided.

In 2021, allegations of racist remarks and conduct made by Jahid Ahmed, Zoheb Sharif and Maurice Chambers were investigated by King's Advisor Katherine Newton, who delivered her commissioned report to Essex.

Its report, published last December, found that referencing players' ethnic, racial and religious backgrounds was “entirely normalized and tolerated behavior” in Essex's dressing room culture from the mid-1990s until around 2013, under the mistaken belief that this was acceptable. 'kidding.'

Essex announced in February that it had sanctioned people in connection with Newton's findings, but did not name them.

Last July, Yorkshire were fined and given points for their handling of former player Azeem Rafiq's allegations of discrimination and for failing to address the systemic use of racist and discriminatory remarks by 2004 to 2021.