Is English cricket, not just Yorkshire cricket, institutionally racist?

…..anti Semitic has been endemic from recorded history.

Indeed it has, and it’s been wrong from the start of history. Anti Semitism led directly to the Holocaust.

Iam64

It may not be all one way Katie59 but it’s hard to ignore our shared colonial history. India and What became Pakistan, Africa, slavery - an endless list of white colonial ‘masters’ subjecting people with darker skin to do their will.

Those who pint to racism from many Muslims to Jewish people are right but, anti Semitic has been endemic from recorded history.

Azeem Rafiq has been courageous in highlighting his own experience. His anti Semitic comments were inevitablynand rightly publicised. Good. Anything that encourages us to reflect and stop insisting we aren’t racist can’t be bad

We should not forget, either, that even in the old Empires, many with darker skin subjugated others.
Some were more equal than others.

For many years I thought sheep shagging was a farming term.

Anniebach

The Welsh are called ‘sheep shaggers’

It's not a general activity amongst the population but not entirely unknown.

Anyone watching "Empire State of Mind" on Channel 4?

It could make you cry.

I've got a feeling that Azeem Rafiq might be regretting highlighting his experience now.

A young woman has now exposed rather creepy texts that he sent to her when she was 17, five years ago.

www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/politics/azeem-rafiq-accused-of-sending-creepy-messages-to-teenage-girl-six-years-ago-3464984

It may not be all one way Katie59 but it’s hard to ignore our shared colonial history. India and What became Pakistan, Africa, slavery - an endless list of white colonial ‘masters’ subjecting people with darker skin to do their will.

Those who pint to racism from many Muslims to Jewish people are right but, anti Semitic has been endemic from recorded history.

Azeem Rafiq has been courageous in highlighting his own experience. His anti Semitic comments were inevitablynand rightly publicised. Good. Anything that encourages us to reflect and stop insisting we aren’t racist can’t be bad

There are a lot of people that are racist in private, real attitudes spill over in company, especially where alchohol loosens the tongue.
I can well imagine the banter between groups turning to them and us and it’s not all one way either.

No need for confusion over what to call people, stick to terms that don't upset them, call those from a Pakistanu background Pakistanis, or Yorkshire folk with a Pakistani background.
Call black people black, call them black British if that's what they are. Muslims come in all colours and ethnicities, as do Christians, indeed there are Pakistani Christians.
As for the reflex well what about girls from a certain background, only this one mind, why are these people seemingly OK with it when it goes on perpetrated by white men. It's wrong full stop, and the paedophile I've known, obviously have not known it at the time, just later, they have all been white British so called Christians. I'm against it whoever does it and wish we could deport anyone who does it to a distant island when they have done their time.

And strange that Lewis Hamilton one of our top achieving world record smashing absolutely darling low key heroes gets?...........a paltry MBE!!! no knighthood?

He was given a knighthood this year.

tattygran14

Anybody else totally confused as to what it is now acceptable to say, and what isn't?

No, not really. Just don't be racist.

I think if you portay someone as all good and someone as all bad, it's going to end in a mess. Life and human beings are much more complex than that.

All the filth crawling out of the woodwork now in sport and elsewhere illustrates just how childish immature and spoiled they all are!! Remember Freddy Flintoff getting blasted at downing Street and disgracing himself and team? And it continues to get a laugh! Why?? Deeply unfunny. And strange that Lewis Hamilton one of our top achieving world record smashing absolutely darling low key heroes gets?...........a paltry MBE!!! no knighthood? Well it's not cos he's not quite good enough at what he does is it?

Lincslass

Rafiq has just apologised for anti Semitic tweets he made a few years ago. So that’s alright then?
www.skysports.com/cricket/news/12123/12471808/rafiq-apologises-for-antisemitic-comments-he-sent-in-2011

It illustrates that most use slurs at some time.a more fruitful way of him calling out his racist abuse problem would be to upfront tell everyone that he too did it in his younger years! Then to say maybe it didn't hit home how damning it was until he was at the receiving end of the abuse? Not to go down the "poor me" route. He too admits foul behaviour at the expense of our African friends and.....well me! Being Jewish! Everyone needs to examine consciences admit our bad behaviour and make every effort to right the ongoing wrongs.

Anybody else totally confused as to what it is now acceptable to say, and what isn't?

Holding a teenage girl down and pouring alcohol down her throat is also not acceptable.

katy1950

I think they are all as bad as each other all the races seems to use offence words against each other and unfortunately the media as decided that the caucasians seem to be classed as the worst

His complaint wasn't just about words though was it? Holding a teenage boy down and pouring alcohol down his throat cannot be acceptable, if that boy is a Muslim it is even worse.

The Welsh are called ‘sheep shaggers’

I have to be honest and say that some of these slurs mentioned by others, I have never heard of, in particular those used for English or Scottish people.

Racism expressed by teenagers is still racism. Even expressed by tiny children, although often they are saying what they’ve heard others say, and may not understand the true meaning.

Yes both are unacceptable so dismissing one with ‘he was a teenager’ is wrong in my opinion.

My elder granddaughter when age 15 was mocked for sharing
swotting time for exams with the son of a Gurkha . Still those
mocking were only 15 and we do and say stupid things as teenagers.

Anti Semitic slurs are never OK, jeez, why is this so hard? Nobody is excusing his behaviour.

Sassenach is Gaelic for English person. I'd never use it because people now consider it a slur if used out of context. If you'd called me Lockerbie Jock I'd have thought you were a bit daft and probably avoided you.

Why should anti semitic slurs be alright when people are teenagers. I'm afraid this has shown that at times we all will have intentianly or unitentianly made racist slurs.It does not mean I condone it.
I have had a Pakistani child have a screaming fit when realising they had eaten bacon crisps at a party. The food was sent in by parents. They did not set out to insult they just never thought and neither did I.
We are all much more aware now and should stop and think.
Non of us are exempt from this, someone I know went through child hood known as a wee Sassenach one parent English the other Scots. I myself habitually called Scots people"Lockerbie Jock", I must have picked it up from adults I did not know where Lockerbie was.
At school the people who's mothers were German often had it thrust at them and we also called people D.P.'s because their fathers had been captured as prisoners of war and never went back because their country was then in the USSR.
We all need to to think ,change our ways and not condemn what we might have unintentionally done ourselves.

Nothing excuses racism, ever. Even if its the little darlings in the playground.

But Rafiq doing something racist doesn't negate the racism that he himself suffered. They are both unacceptable.

although wrong he was a teenager and we say stupid things as teenagers.

This excuses racism in the playground

Of course cricket is institutionally racist.... as is the whole of human society. Managing it is the problem, so we don't end up with a Holocaust like Nazi Germany or Rwanda.