Following evidence given by Azeem Rafiq, the ex-chairman and successor Lord Kamlesh Patel give testimonies to the DCMS hearing into racism in cricket
Yorkshire County Cricket Club is institutionally racist according to its former chairman Roger Hutton.
An independent investigation into allegations made by Azeem Rafiq upheld seven allegations but no punishments were handed out by the club.
The lack of action led to the resignation of Hutton, appointed in April 2020, earlier this month. Chief executive Mark Arthur followed last week.
During his testimony during the DCMS hearing into racism in cricket, Hutton was pressed on whether the club were indeed institutionally racist, as Rafiq alleged.
"The panel concluded there was insufficient evidence," he said. "I have to observe that in the past few months there has been a substantial amount of thoughtlessness and ignorance and a reluctance to apologise; to see Azeem as a victim; to put into place the recommendations."
Pressed by Kevin Brennan MP on the subject, Hutton said: "Yes, I fear it falls under that definition."
Successor Lord Kamlesh Patel, who was asked to join the session, added: "I have been appointed because there is a charge of that and the processes and systems fails to be there.
"My job is to work with people to change that. I have to be proud of the organisation I am chairing."
Among the many allegations and emotional accounts documented by Rafiq during his testimony which lasted nearly two hours, he labelled a charge at cricket that it was "worse than society".
Patel responded: "I know I need to take people with me and people need to learn themselves. Azeem said it was like water off a duck's back because it happened every day.
"It pains me it is prevalent in cricket. Cricket gave me an escape in life when it was tough, now I have to work out an action-orientated way forward. With politicians involved, you represent people and constituents have said we are not having this."
After the law firm, Squire Patton Boggs, which previously employed the former chairman, were enlisted to lead the investigation Hutton has revealed he was asked to abandon the process by Arthur.
"There were a number of signals throughout the process," he said. "I was asked by the CEO to abandon the process and investigation.
Martyn Moxon, currently signed off with a stress-related illness, remains the director of cricket at Yorkshire
"An employment tribunal had been settled and the CEO did not want to apologise. I said Azeem Rafiq would be part of the process of healing and reconciliation and was told he would not be welcome.
"There were isolated incidents like this throughout the investigation.
"When the report was produced on 17 August, there was clear resistance to see Azeem as a victim and clear resistance to an apology.
"There is no one defining moment and I saw resistance and it accumulated.
"I believed that the club's culture was in the past and needs changing, my resigning was not going to change that, (being on the board) that would have been done from within."
Without the executive power to remove members of the board without the move being sanctioned by the Colin Graves Trust, which is owed millions of pounds by Yorkshire and can veto decisions, Hutton was powerless to respond to the lack of action following the report's findings.
Yorkshire refrained from reprimanding current members of staff named in the report and even defended former skipper Gary Ballance's use of the P-word as banter.
"I would have liked to have removed Mark Arthur and (director of cricket) Martyn Moxon," explained Hutton.
"Not because of the conduct that is referred to in the report but as a consequence of their failure to understand the gravity of the situation, their failure to apologise and their failure to move on the recommendations the panel put forward."
He added: "It was hard to get them to do anything you wanted to get them to do. There were a series of meetings from August 17, a host of emails and things weren't done.
"I have been to the club only a limited number of times," Hutton says. "It is hard for me to evaluate the personalities of the people there.
"I am thrilled Lord Patel is there. The non-executives were very supportive of my position at the time and they can definitely bring change."
There was also scathing criticism directed towards the ECB who he believes should have led the inquiry into the allegations made by Rafiq.
Azeem Rafiq had earlier given an emotional testimony to the DCMS hearing
"The ECB should have carried out this investigation," he said. "It would have been far better had they done that. This was a whistleblowing claim from 2007 to 2018, against the executive of the club.
"I said at the time that it was a game-wide issue and the ECB should have investigated at the time and could have done so. Publication would have been easier and they should have recognised this is something they should be involved in.
"Azeem did not approach Yorkshire, he made statements in the press because he did not have confidence in them and felt they were institutionally racist.
Lord Patel is leading a new era at Yorkshire, which has included the setting up of a hotline that allows victims of discrimination to report their experiences to an independent body. The former senior independent director of the ECB hopes that Rafiq's accounts will be an important juncture for the sport.
"This is a watershed moment," he said. "The last person I can think [who feels similar] to this is [the 1993 racist murder of] Stephen Lawrence, who lost his life, and that led to change.
"This young man thankfully hasn't (lost his life). Who cannot be moved by what he has said? There is a moment in time when we can rise from the ashes. I want to make this the best county cricket club in the world, not just for cricket but for culture and values and want to be the template going forward."
In a statement released following the hearing, Lord Patel once again praised Rafiq for standing up and insisted that while there was no "quick fix" for the situation at Yorkshire, he would do everything in his power to right the wrongs of the past.
"Azeem's courage in speaking up should be praised, and nobody should underestimate how difficult it would have been to relive all of this in public. His wish to bring a 'voice to the voiceless' should be an inspiration to provoke real change in the sport. I repeat our apology to Azeem for what he has gone through, it should never have happened and that is something the club has to recognise," he said.
"There is no quick fix for the clear problems which have been identified, and the issues are complex, not least the charge of institutional racism which must be addressed head on. Azeem noted that this is not about individuals, but rather the structure and processes of the club, and we need to tackle this. It is clear that we have good people at Yorkshire County Cricket Club and that gives me hope that we can. I am struck by the concept of ‘White Rose’ values and what that means: I want to say firmly that our values at this club cannot be in any way rooted in racism, discrimination or abuse of any kind."
He concluded: "In his testimony, Azeem said that, despite the treatment he received, 'Yorkshire is still my club.' I want to make this Cricket Club a source of pride once again, righting the wrongs of the past and making sure that we are an inclusive home for aspiring players of the future."
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