England batter Gary Ballance has issued an open apology to Azeem Rafiq over his ‘racist’ manner when the 2 were teammates at Yorkshire.
Ballance met Rafiq individual before this week and has now shared an official statement, and excuse with the former cricketer. Ballance was among the many players Rafiq had accused of cultural abuse while opening up about his sore stint with Yorkshire.
shared an official statement, the 32-year-old accepted that his behavior towards Rafiq was ‘unacceptable’ and at times ‘racist’. According to a statement in The Cricketer, Ballance’s official statement show:
“I have wanted to meet Azeem in person for quite some time, but I had to make sure I was in a good place when I did so. Azeem has been through similar mental health challenges and understands why this has taken me a little time.”
BREAKING: Yorkshire's Gary Ballance apologises in person to Azeem Rafiq for racist language he used when they were teammates pic.twitter.com/mUgnsE2TwS
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) August 25, 2022
The statement added:
“I apologize unreservedly to Azeem for the words I used when we played together. I did use unacceptable – at times, racist – language. If I had realized how much this hurt Azeem, I would have stopped immediately. That’s why I wanted to meet him this week and be clear in person that I intended no malice. That’s not an excuse, I realize that the language I used was wrong.
“I have accepted, from the outset, that the words I used were wrong and I hope this statement brings Azeem some comfort. There is no place in our sport for this behavior and I am determined to play my part in ridding the game of racism and making it more inclusive. To do this we all need to be honest and learn from our past mistakes,” the England cricketer’s statement concluded.
Ballance was among those accused by the ECB of bringing the match into shame following an investigation into the Yorkshire discrimination scandal.
“Gary must be acclaimed for his honesty” – Azeem Rafiq admits Ballance’s apology
Reacting to the open apology, Rafiq has recognized it and termed the England batter as being ‘brave’ to accept the truth. He commented:
“From day one of opening up about my experiences, all I ever wanted was acceptance and apologies for what happened. Gary has been brave to admit the truth and I understand why the mental strain has made it difficult for him to make this apology any sooner. Gary must be applauded for his honesty and unreserved apology and must now be allowed to get on with his life.”
The 31-year-old added:
“Gary got things wrong, and so did many people. The main issue is cricket’s institutional racism. Gary’s courage means he is now part of the solution. I hope he can be allowed to get on with his cricket.
“I would like to thank Gary. He has done cricket and the fight against racism a great service with these words. I would also like to thank those who have been in contact with me privately to apologize for what they witnessed,” he further added.
Azeem Rafiq “Gary Ballance must be applauded for his honesty & apology. He got things wrong, and so did many people. The main issue is cricket’s institutional racism. Gary’s courage means he is now part of the solution. I hope he can be allowed to get on with his cricket” #Cricket
— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) August 25, 2022
However, according to a statement earlier this month, Balance is considering switching to Zimbabwe. The left-handed cricketer was born and brought up in Zimbabwe, and performed 5 matches for the U19 team before moving to England in 2006. He performed for England in 23 Tests and 16 ODIs from the year of 2013 to 2017.