Former Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq says he would stop his children from getting into cricket as he doesn’t want his “son or daughter to be in pain.”
On Tuesday, Rafiq gave evidence before a UK parliamentary Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) panel and shared his experiences of being subjected to racism while playing for Yorkshire County Cricket Club (YCCC).
An investigation into the allegations found that Rafiq had been subjected to racial harassment and bullying in his time at YCCC.
During the hearing, Rafiq described cricket’s racism problem as “worse than society” and says he wouldn’t trust the sport to look after his children.
“I don’t want my son or daughter to be in pain,” he told CNN Sport’s Darren Lewis. “As a parent, there is nothing worse than watching your kids suffer in any way, and professional sport over the last few years has shown that these people come into the game as kids and the institutions mold them into these characters.
“I wouldn’t hand my kids over to adults who don’t know how to deal with kids.”
