Lessons from YCC
How have we got to a situation where Azeem Rafiq, a former professional cricketer, was left close to taking his own life after being subjected to racism during his time at Yorkshire County Cricket Club?
How did the Club, which launched a formal investigation into Rafiq's allegations in 2020, conclude that Rafiq had been subjected to only "inappropriate behaviour" but not (initially) uphold his allegations of racism?
Why was nobody at the club subjected to disciplinary action or dismissed for their part in the treatment of Rafiq following the initial investigation?
In part, the answer seems to be down to the fact that, as the outgoing Chairman of the club acknowledged, there was a culture at the club which "refused to accept change or challenge".
In some ways this description reflects the arch stereotype of a Yorkshire man: stubborn, unbending and stuck in their ways (as typified by Yorkshire's infamously attritional opening batter, Sir Geoffrey Boycott). And, whilst there can be much to be said for these traits when used for good (for example, they can lead to greater resilience in the face of adversity, or a refusal simply to follow the herd), the danger is that they can also so easily lead to myopia, introspection and outdated views. Indeed, in this case, the insidious by-product of YCC’s stubbornness is, it is alleged, institutional racism.
Of course, in amongst this story of alleged institutional racism, there is the distinctly personal account given by one Yorkshire cricketer of his involvement in the events, namely former England cricketer, Gary Ballance. In a long and emotional statement, Ballance admitted that he had used a racial slur towards Rafiq in his younger years and had regularly made jokes about Rafiq's nationality. This he categorised as "banter", suggesting that it was acceptable because Rafiq engaged in it (and seemingly gave as good as he got). Ballance denied that this supposedly good natured japing was racist. In fact, from the various press reports which are circulating, it may well be the case that the club itself agreed with Ballance's assessment, hence there was no finding of racism following their initial investigation.
Interestingly, Rafiq appears to acknowledge that he did behave how Ballance describes. However, he has commented that he felt that he had no choice but to play along as it was the only way in which he could fit in. This illustrates perfectly the danger with the banter defence: it is wholly unreliable and one can never know whether the recipient of the banter is a genuinely willing participant or is secretly being hurt and damaged by every verbal assault. As a result of this, it seems reasonable to suggest that the banter defence is not a defence at all. In fact, it is a fallacy. On no level is it acceptable to use an individual's protected characteristic against them as a source of ridicule or merry-making. It may have gone unchallenged in the past, but it will certainly not do so in today's society. The reality is that the banter defence is now as outdated as the individuals who seek to rely on it and it needs to be confined to the dustbin of history.
Learning points from this saga
1. Be willing to accept change and challenge. It is only by reflecting on challenge and, where appropriate, agreeing to change that we can truly grow and evolve into better human beings and a better society.
2. Hold your hand up and apologise when you get it wrong. Seeking to defend the indefensible makes you look ridiculous and can have drastic consequences (consider, for example, the commercial implications for YCC of losing their various sponsorship deals).
3. By all means, have fun with your friends and feel free to make jokes and be funny. However, avoid banter which is targeted at a person's characteristics (whether protected or not!).
4. If you observe unacceptable banter taking place in the workplace, speak up and challenge it.
5. If you are the recipient of unacceptable banter, know that it is wrong and use the appropriate internal channels to address it.
6. If you are an organisation, do more than simply have a bullying and harassment policy. Work hard to develop a culture which seeks to eradicate bullying and harassment in all its forms and people are empowered to speak up and challenge it. This will take regular reminders to your staff and repeated training. It will also require you to demonstrate that you take complaints of bullying and harassment seriously and that you don’t seek to brush them under the carpet.