ECB criticises former Yorkshire chairman Colin Graves for labelling racism incidents as ‘banter’

Former Yorkshire chairman Colin Graves has been criticized by the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) for calling incidents of racism at the county club as “banter”. Recently, Yorkshire accepted four amended charges related to racism allegations and bullying made by former player Azeem Rafiq in February. 

However, Graves denied hearing any allegations when he was the chairman between 2012 and 2015. The statement has not gone down well with the ECB who said they are "disappointed" with his comments. ECB further stated that they disagree with his statements and any debate regarding should stop the controversy should stop immediately.

"We must never again hear the accounts like Azeem Rafiq's, where racist slurs are used as part of normalised language. These events, along with many issues experienced by Azeem and others during their time at Yorkshire, have been upheld more than once, including during proceedings overseen by the Cricket Discipline Committee (CDC). We vehemently disagree that this is 'just banter' and believe any debate in regard should stop immediately,” ECB was quoted as saying by BBC.

Notably, former spinner Rafiq made claims of historical racism at Headingley in August 2020, and further went on to call English cricket "institutionally racist". Six ex-Yorkshire players were convicted and got sanctioned with fines and bans by the CDC last month.

On the other hand, former England captain Michael Vaughan was cleared "on the balance of probabilities" by the panel of using racist language towards Rafiq. The sanctions resulting from Yorkshire's four charges will be discussed in a hearing on June 27. Potential sanctions include an unlimited fine, points deductions and suspension from ECB competitions.

There could have been a lot of banter in there about it: Colin Graves

In an interview, Graves had denied hearing about any racism allegations and termed it to be just ‘banter’.

"I don't think it was done on a racist, savage basis. I know people don't like the word banter, but I think there could have been a lot of banter in there about it. But the world has changed; society has changed. It's not acceptable. I understand that, I accept it, full stop. When I was chairman of the club, when some of these allegations were made, I can tell you now, nothing was brought up within the club,” Graves was quoted as saying by BBC.

Graves once again had his sight on becoming Yorkshire chairman but withdrew his name last week. Lord Patel stepped down from the role in March, with Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson currently interim chair.