Commons motion on racism in cricket, 8th March 2021. Nothing was done
On 8th March 2021 12 MPs tabled an EDM on racism in cricket. Such motions are simply a way of raising an issue.
Even so the issue was very real and nothing was done. Yorkshire cricket club have spent much time and resource trying to cover up the findings of an investigation into racist behaviour at the club. Ultimately they failed and the issue is now headline news.
They could of course have taken robust action to deal with the issue, but they didn’t, and until now neither did the governing body of cricket the ECB. There are a lot of anti-racist cricketers and cricket fans. Its time their voices were not only heard but acted on
That this House expresses its serious concern at the underrepresentation of African, Caribbean and Asian coaches, umpires and match officials at all levels of Cricket in England and Wales; recalls the 1997 report Racial Equality in Cricket by the Cricket Board of England and Wales, which promised to tackle racism in cricket; expresses its alarm at the subsequent failure to address the institutional racism that is present at all levels of the game; condemns the failure of the English Cricket Board to appoint any African, Caribbean and Asian umpires and match officials to such panel positions in the last 29 years; deplores the bullying, racial harassment and victimisation suffered by African, Caribbean and Asian, players, umpires and coaches within first class cricket; welcomes the establishment of the Asian Cricket Association to promote the careers, training, and development of Asian cricketers and professionals in the game; calls upon the English and Wales Cricket Board to support and fully fund African, Caribbean and Asian Cricket Associations to remedy the historical injustice of race discrimination that has excluded ethnic minority cricket players, umpires, coaches, managers, and teams from reaching their true potential and position in the game; and urges the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to make anti-racism and equality and diversity targets within cricket a ministerial priority, and to report annually on the progress being made.
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