Majid Haq: Scotland’s all-time leading wicket-taker wants to speak out about racial abuse he suffered | Cricket News

Off-spinner Majid Haq took 60 one-day international wickets for Scotland after making 209 appearances

Scotland’s all-time leading wicket-taker Majid Haq says he is willing to face legal action if it means he can speak out about the racial abuse he suffered during his career.

Haq represented Scotland over a 13-year period – making 209 appearances – but failed to play again after posting a race-related tweet during the 2015 World Cup.

The 38-year-old tweeted “always tougher when you’re in the minority! #colour #race” after he was not selected for a match against Sri Lanka. He was sent home from the tournament following the incident and signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with Cricket Scotland.

However, after Haq claimed the organisation was “institutionally racist” in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports News, Scotland’s national agency for sport announced it was appointing a team of independent experts to carry out a full review of racism within the game.

‘A once-in-a-lifetime investigation’

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Scotland’s all-time leading wicket-taker Majid Haq says he is willing to face legal action, if it means he can speak out about the racial abuse he has suffered

Cricket Scotland said it would relax NDAs to allow people to take part in the review, however, Haq is yet to have his contractual restrictions terminated and says he will speak out – even if the organisation does not remove his NDA.

“We’re obviously into almost two months of the investigation, the NDA still hasn’t been lifted,” Haq said.

“There was meant to be a proper investigation, so you need to actually lift them completely, not say certain conditions where you can do this or that.”

Majid Haq was sent home from the Cricket World Cup in 2015

When asked if he would be willing to face legal action and break his NDA, Haq added: “Yes. I think it’s at a stage now where this is probably a once-in-a-lifetime investigation.

“It’s really important people are allowed to speak openly and freely to benefit everyone in society in general and in sports”.

Lawyer tells Cricket Scotland to “deal with the past”

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Aamer Anwar, the lawyer for former Scotland cricketer Majid Haq, says the player refuses to be silenced

Haq’s lawyer, Aamer Anwar, added: “Majid refuses any longer to be silenced. He has given me instructions to say to Cricket Scotland either lift this gagging clause, or the only other alternative Cricket Scotland has is to sue Majid Haq.

“He will speak and he will speak out publicly, that’s his right to do so. A victim must, without any clause and any attempt to gagging, to be allowed to speak publicly about the discrimination he faced.

“Nobody can begin to understand what Majid Haq went through. Humiliated publicly. Returning. Nobody standing at the airport apart from the media. Lambasted in the press. Lambasted by fellow players.

“That’s lasted years and I saw Majid and I saw the mental trauma that took place. There was no support provided by him, he was just simply cast aside.

“Now of course, many years later, people are talking about racism and lessons needing to be learned. If you want lessons to be learned you deal with the past, and the past begins with the likes of individuals like Majid Haq.”

‘Reputations have been ruined’

Cricket Scotland “acknowledge there is racism within the game” and say they are “prepared” to release Haq from his NDA

Cricket Scotland has accepted racism exists within the game and apologised for those who had been impacted.

The organisation also says it will release Haq from his NDA and in a statement said: “We fully acknowledge there is racism within the game and are truly sorry that anyone has suffered racism or any form of discrimination.

“Cricket Scotland will embrace the recommendations from the independent report and ensure that cricket within Scotland becomes more inclusive, welcoming and open to all.

“We are fully engaging with the Plan4Sport review, which we believe is the correct independent context for discussions on racism and all areas of discrimination to take place.

“We are listening and want to understand how we can meaningfully make things better and we urge people to engage with Plan4Sport.

“We are prepared to release Majid from the NDA and we are waiting to hear from him to agree we can each speak freely.”

Following Friday’s statement from Cricket Scotland, when the organisation acknowledged racism within the game, Haq added: “For the future generations this is brilliant, but obviously the people who have suffered through it over the years, they’re going to think that it is sort of an apology, but their careers are finished now.

“They’ve suffered mental torture, which is a big thing. Their reputations have been ruined, future job opportunities have probably been hindered by something like this as well in the past.

“Emotionally as well, a lot of players have suffered, so I hope Cricket Scotland reach out to all the players, coaches and umpires who have suffered from this. That’s the most important thing.”

‘Actions speak louder than words’

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Majid Haq’s lawyer Aamer Anwar tells Cricket Scotland that ‘actions speak louder than words’ after admitting to racism within the sport

Anwar said: “It’s all very well making the admission, but what are you going to do about it? They claim to be conducting an independent review, but increasingly those who have tried to engage with the review and those who have thought about speaking to the review are starting to talk about it as a paper exercise.

“They have a great deal to prove, and actions speak louder than words. At the moment they have faltered, they have stumbled.

“There’s still a chance to make this a review that can actually really make a difference, but at the moment it just seems to be a talking shop.

“It’s asking people to come forward and on one hand it is saying we want to speak to people who have suffered discrimination, but we also want to speak to people who have had a positive experience. Which one is it?

Haq’s former team-mate Qasim Sheikh told Sky Sports News in November he was treated differently due to the colour of his skin

“Is this an independent investigation into racism, or are you also wanting to bring on those who have continued to deny the existence of racism?

“Secondly, they seem to be lumping all the discriminations in together, so they’re not actually just looking at racism, they’re looking at other forms of discrimination and I think that’s demeaning.

“It’s insulting to women, who have suffered from misogyny and sexism. They should have a standalone investigation into their allegations. There’s no point in just saying sorry.

“What are you going to do about it? How are you going to explain away the years and years of institutional racism? How are you going to eradicate it? What action are you actually going to take that’s effective?

“We’ve seen it in football and we’ve seen in other sports, but in cricket it still seems to be that you don’t pass the cricket test.”

‘No one should be forced into silence’

A spokesperson for sportscotland – Scotland’s national agency for sport – said: “It is vitally important that those who have experienced racism, inequalities and discrimination are given every opportunity to fully and openly talk about what they have gone through, without any fear of recrimination.

“No one should be forced into silence if they have been the victim of racism, discrimination or injustice of any kind. That is of course particularly true during the period of the ongoing review but that basic right should not be subject to any time restriction.

“The global experts leading the independent review bring with them a diverse and skilled team of specialists, who will deal with this review with the highest level of professionalism and compassion.

“They must be given the time and space required to carry out this vital piece of work and to make any associated recommendations that will help improve the sport for the better.

“As the national agency for sport, sportscotland will hold Cricket Scotland to account on the final recommendations of the independent report.

“We would urge anyone who has experienced or witnessed racism, inequalities or discrimination within Scottish cricket to contact [email protected] in the first instance.

“All contacts will be treated confidentially and will be responded to by the independent review team.”