LEEDS, Dec 5: English county side Yorkshire finds itself in the centre of a raging issue with its former players and employees backing cricketer Azeem Rafiq�s claims of �institutional racism� at the club, including reference to India�s Cheteshwar Pujara with a generic name. Former West Indies international Tino Best and Pakistan�s Rana Naved-ul-Hasan provided evidence in support of Rafiq as part of an ongoing investigation into his allegations.
According to ESPNcricinfo, two former Yorkshire employees � Taj Butt and Tony Bowry � have also given evidence against the club which has institutionalised racism. �(There were) continuous references to taxi drivers and restaurant workers when referring to (the) Asian community,� Butt, who was employed within the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation as a community development officer, was quoted as saying by the cricket portal. �They called every person of colour �Steve�. Even (India batsman) Cheteshwar Pujara, who joined as an overseas professional, was called Steve because they could not pronounce his name.�
Butt tendered his resignation within six weeks of joining. Having worked as a coach until 1996, Bowry was the cultural diversity officer at the Yorkshire Cricket Board from 1996 until 2011.
