English player Jack Brooks has reached out to Cheteshwar Pujara and apologised to him for referring him as ‘Steve’ instead of using his real name. Brooks, who now plays for Somerset, was Pujara’s teammate during his first stint with Yorkshire Cricket club in 2015.
In a statement, Brooks has said that he didn’t recognise it as racist behaviour back then. But he now sees it as unacceptable. “When this has occurred in the past in a dressing room environment, it has been commonplace to give nicknames, regardless of creed or race. I admit to having used it in this context and now accept that it was disrespectful and wrong to do so. I have reached out and apologised to Cheteshwar for any offence that I have caused him or his family. At the time I didn’t recognise this as racist behaviour, but I can now see that it was not acceptable,” Brooks said.
Brooks was one of those named during Azeem Rafiq’s testimony to the Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) Committee in Parliament on Tuesday (November 19).
Apart from Brooks, former England skipper Michael Vaughan, David Lloyd, Alex Halex, Tim Bresnan are among those named by the former Yorkshire spinner.
Apart from using the word Steve, Brooks is also under the scanner for his historical racist tweets. Even though he has deleted his Twitter account, Brook’s tweets are in public knowledge. Somerset Cricket Club, the team Brooks presently plays for, has also issued a statement regarding the matter. Brooks was part of Yorkshire when he made racist tweets.
Halex declines naming his black dog Kevin
Meanwhile, discarded England opener Alex Hales has declined naming his black dog, Kevin. As per Rafiq, the word Kevin was used for people of colour.
Hales, who has been out of the national team since being dropped for 2019 World Cup, has issued a statement regarding the matter.
“Having heard the allegations made against me, I categorically and absolutely deny there was any racial connotation in the naming of my dog. I entirely respect and have huge sympathy for both the stance Azeem Rafiq has taken and what he has had to endure. His evidence was harrowing,” Hales has said.
