Investigation finds leadership of Scotland cricket board guilty of racism
The leadership of Scottish cricket was found to be institutionally racist by an independent review following a seven-month investigation.
It found that governing body Cricket Scotland failed in 29 out of 31 indicators of institutional racism set out by a consultancy firm leading the investigation.
Moreover, it only partially passed the other two tests and there were 448 examples of institutional racism.
The entire cricket board of Scotland resigned on Sunday ahead of the publication of the report.
Scotland's Majid Haq and his former teammate, Qasim Sheikh had made allegations of racism which sparked the investigation.
Hundreds of people came forward to recount their experiences as part of the investigation. The allegations include racial abuse, the use of inappropriate language, favoritism toward white children from public schools, and a lack of a transparent selection process.
The review also found a lack of any diversity or anti-racist training. It stated that there is no consistent process for handling racist incidents by the board and the people who did raise issues are “sidelined or ignored."
The consultancy firm leading the review said it was clear that the “governance and leadership practices of Cricket Scotland have been institutionally racist.”
“The reality is that the leadership of the organization failed to see the problems and, in failing to do so, enabled a culture of racially aggravated micro-aggressions to develop," said Louise Tideswell, the firm's managing director.
Stewart Harris, chief executive of sportscotland, described the findings of the report as “deeply concerning and in some cases shocking” and said it should “act as a wake-up call for all of Scottish sport.”
“Racism is a societal problem,” he said, “and it is no longer good enough to simply be non-racist, Scottish sport must now be actively anti-racist.”
Cricket Scotland interim CEO Gordon Arthur, who started in his role this month, issued what he described as a “heartfelt apology” to the victims of racism and other discrimination.
“We hope the report provides them with some reassurance that their voices have been heard, and we are sorry this did not happen sooner,” Arthur said. “This report is a watershed moment for cricket in Scotland and taking its recommendations forward is the top priority. It's clear that significant cultural change must happen and it must happen quickly.”
However, Arthur refused to give personal apologies to Majid and Qasim.
(Inputs from PTI)
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