Yorkshire County Cricket Club Loses Multiple Sponsors
A number of sponsors have announced they are ending ties with Yorkshire Country Cricket Club (YCCC) as more information comes to light surrounding YCCC’s handling of the racial abuse towards former player Azeem Rafiq.
Firstly, Yorkshire Tea announced that it was immediately ending its partnership with YCCC over the handling of the Azeem Rafiq investigation.
A statement read: “We were upset to read about the experiences of Azeem Rafiq during his time at Yorkshire County Cricket Club. We wholeheartedly believe that cricket should be a sport for everyone, but his experiences and the way the panel report has been handled don’t reflect that.
“Our current partnership with YCCC was naturally coming to an end but we have taken the decision to end it with immediate effect.”
Publishing company Emerald Group, which has naming for rights for Headlingley Stadium, home of YCCC, has also taken the decision to end its brand relationship with the club and Headingley Stadium.
In a statement they said “We do not tolerate any form of racism or discriminatory behaviour and the damaging effects this has.
“Our intention remains to continue a financial commitment to the stadium itself, which is also the home of Leeds Rhinos rugby, as we believe this supports the aims of diversity and inclusion in sport along with a range of charitable community endeavours.
“Emerald will however no longer sponsor Yorkshire County Cricket Club. We hope that YCCC will listen and respond with serious action to eradicate racism from the club and uphold the values we all expect.”
Other sponsors such as Tetley’s has announced that its current deal with Yorkshire will not be extended, and David Lloyd Clubs will also not continue their partnership with the club.
The news comes after the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) chair Julian Knight MP called on the board of Yorkshire County Cricket Club to resign after an investigation concluded that Rafiq was the victim of “racial harassment and bullying” and YCCC decided that no further action would be taken against any employee, executive or player.
