Yorkshire racism victim Azeem Rafiq allegedly sent 17-y-o girl lewd texts in 2015: Report

Former Yorkshire cricketer Azeem Rafiq who had earlier made allegations of facing racism and bullying while playing for Yorkshire has been accused of sending 'creepy' messages to a teenage girl back in December 2015. According to Yorkshire Post, Azeem Rafiq sent inappropriate WhatsApp messages to her in December 2015, three months after they met on a flight from Manchester to Dubai. The ex-Yorkshire County Cricket Club player has been the main whistleblower in the ongoing investigation into the Yorkshire racism scandal.

As per the report, she told the professional cricketer she was 17 and agreed to have a drink with him on the plane, but turned down an invitation to have dinner with him in Dubai.

Azeem Rafiq's alleged WhatsApp messages to the teenager

Azeem Rafiq allegedly sent her clearly suggestive texts to which she responded saying, “do you realise that I’m only 17?” To that, the cricketer allegedly responded, “Does tht mean it not allowed to want to kiss me”. Another text allegedly said, “Wud u have let me kiss u?”.

"How do I know that you’re no some absolute pervert”, She told the publication adding, “I was just kind of shocked by the crudity of those messages. They were just so vulgar.” She also said that some of the allegations of racism he labeled do not sit right with her.

Furthermore, she said, "I'm not disputing any of his racism claims, because I'm sure they're very true experiences. But certain aspects of what he said just don't really sit right with me. If he was being forced to drink by his teammates, then surely that wouldn’t then mean he would be drinking alone on a flight and encouraging a 17-year-old girl to be drinking with him."

On the allegations leveled against Rafiq, his spokesperson said, "This was put to us late on a Friday evening. We need to look into this, so cannot comment further for now.”

Yorkshire racism row

Rafiq had first made the allegations of racism against the club and his former teammates in 2018. However, Yorkshire only acknowledged that a formal inquiry into the matter has been launched in September 2020, after Rafiq went to the press. Earlier this year, Yorkshire released its report and admitted that Rafiq was subjected to racism on several occasions. But on October 28, Yorkshire issued a statement where it refused to accept the report of its internal panel and said, "There is no conduct or action taken by any of its employees, players or Executives that warrants disciplinary action." 

The statement caused massive uproar, forcing the ECB to step in and suspend the club from hosting international matches until it can "meet the standards expected of an international venue, ECB member and First Class County".  

The report also resulted in a series of resignations as Roger Hutton, chairman of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, including other board members, stepped down from their respective positions on Friday. Hutton cited the unwillingness of board members to apologise for the racism allegations made against the club as the reason for his resignation. He also accused the club of nurturing a culture that refuses to accept change.

Recently, he also appeared before the  Digital Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) committee hearing in the parliament and revealed many incidents of racism during his stint with the county club. 

(Image: AP/Pixabay)