Yorkshire are gonna get hammered once / if the ECB are ever forced to get their act together aren't they?

Witholding International and Major Match cricket was just the first punishment. Look at how Durham were punished and this frankly dwarfs that in terms of severity and damage to the game

The story has got much much bigger since then too. On the Wisden Weekly podcast https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-fayrn-1129f555 they speak about it being existential but quite rightly they point out the punishments have got to be punitive and not simply used as barter to get them to agree to alter their ways.

In last week's podcast one of the contributors questioned how on earth he (or any decent person for that matter) could bring himself to go to Headingley next April in light of the revelation that he'd likely be subject to racist abuse and very little would get done about it.

Complete ban from competitions for the 2022 season has been mooted - personally I'd only apply this to the First XI and the ECB can step in and assist the running of the Academy, 2nd XI and womens sides. Re-introduce Yorkshire into Division Two for the start of the 2023 season once the necessary changes have been made to the club including the removal of the Graves Family Trust element to their ownership and a complete overhaul of the club

As said on the podcast there is potentially a "safeguarding issue" relating to the treatment of non-white spectators and players faced by visiting Headingley so it seems unlikely there'll be many wanting to play there or against their dressing room culture next season. The club may even have to go to the wall and then re-form as a new Yorkshire club

Ex-Bear Ateeq Javid now getting drawn into this whole mess:
https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/azeem-rafiq-ashamed-after-historic-anti-semitic-exchange-comes-to-light-1290047

There needs to be some sort of amnesty or truth and reconciliation commission otherwise this could go on indefinitely.

With this particular incident at least they have a template for dealing with it. The same way they dealt with the Ollie Robinson revelations of historic social media earlier this year. Some thought it too lenient, others too harsh - I thought it was one thing the ECB seemed to get about right.

Obvs these players are not employed by first class counties any longer but still.

Lets not allow it to deflect from the greater task at hand. Although the next few weeks as we all expect will be pretty grim there could be some real shocks with what comes out and the game itself might never be able to revert back to what it was but that itself in many senses is no bad thing.

This thing is way bigger than Azeem vs Yorkshire now as that's been settled. This issue does not need a "figurehead" it needs everyone. If Azeem's aim was to bring down individuals who had wronged him I guess he'd no longer have a leg to stand on. But that's not what he's been calling for, he's demanding change to end systematic racism within Yorkshire & wider cricket. His posts from 10 years ago (sounds like more to come) shouldn't alter sensible folks views on the situation but you just knew the Farage's et al would be suddenly showing interest today

I do wonder whether some of the media and political commentators are channelling Captain Renault from Casablanca when they profess themselves to be shocked (shocked!) to discover that sports clubs can be nests of testosterone fuelled machismo where the senior members think it is their right to abuse and demean the more junior ones. I imagine we've all seen it; possibly been on the receiving end of it; perhaps perpetrated it in our ignorant youth. If Azeem Rafiq's speaking out alerts the more knuckle-headed types to the fact that "banter" can be thoroughly hurtful and makes them think twice in future, we will have taken a big step forward. Let's be nice to each other.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/59391682

One positive from this is that we will not have to endure the comments of Vaughan during the Ashes series.

Intellingent discussion re: leadership from Sport England's Chris Grant OBE who sent an open letter to the counties/ECB last week
https://chrisg14a.wordpress.com/2021/11/18/open-letter-to-leaders-of-english-cricket/

Well worth listening to this anyone involved at all levels within the game;
https://audioboom.com/posts/7985661-where-sport-goes-next-after-the-azeem-rafiq-revelations

As they used to say in the Saturday morning cinema serials for kids, "with one bound, he was free!"
https://www.skysports.com/cricket/news/12123/12478786/warwickshire-will-not-discipline-tim-bresnan-after-role-in-bullying-of-azeem-rafiq-at-yorkshire
To be fair, I am all in favour of redemption and second chances. Maybe Tim can be the archetypal poacher turned gamekeeper.

....and Recordo Gordon speaks out:
https://www.skysports.com/cricket/news/12123/12478333/recordo-gordon-on-being-told-racial-prejudices-would-prevent-him-from-making-it-at-warwickshire

This is commendable initial work from the club and both Bressy now and Recordo over the last 8 years. We're perhaps fortunate that in this instance Warks have a lad who was prepared to speak up at the time (2013) as well as work with the club now.
I hope other current cricket players will now feel confident about speaking like this as it'll help point towards a viable future for the sport. He broke through at Warwicks to enjoy a short professional career but how many players as talented (or more) were held back by the club having this reputation in the area and either moved away or gave up the game?

His experiences coming through age group and club cricket in the area is informative if that has been and is still today the view of young cricket players in the Birmingham area - that it represents a class issue where you need to go to the right private schools in the right leafy areas of the West Midlands or have the right parental connections to get much of a look in and where race intersects quite abruptly - for the good of the game these barriers need tearing down I would hope there is an enormous appetite to do that at Warwicks when there clearly was at least some resistance to acknowledge these issues previously and perhaps even efforts to entrench them within Yorkshire.

Very proud of Recordo Gordon for standing up for himself as a young man. He articulates himself excellently in this piece.

He was a good player too, I know there were questions over his action but I remember at the time remarking that he'd been unlucky to be released. Was terrific across 2014 and 2015.

Recordo is an impressive person, and is developing into a very good coach.
Hopefully he's able to develop his coaching career, and eventually get opportunities to coach a county at senior team level.

I recall the Bears' Royal London win at Lord's in 2016. It had already been announced that Recordo had been released and he wasn't in the squad for the final. But when the team paraded the trophy around Lord's after the game, they called him out to join the parade.

The decision to take no specific action against Tim Bresnan sits very badly with me. I appreciate Warwickshire are in a tricky position and natural justice requires that people aren't thrown out of a job just because they are accused of something, there needs to be a proper process. I'm no expert on race relations but I'd imagine in some circumstances there's no need to punish individuals if we can acknowledge what we did wrong in the past & try to do better in the future. But at some point there has to be accountability at an individual level. Azeem Rafiq identifies Bresnan as one of the principal racist bullies at Yorkshire and it's clear other Yorkshire players accused Bresnan of bullying. There are reports that Warwickshire spoke to Rafiq but no indication they spoke to anybody else at Yorkshire for an independent view or that they asked Yorkshire for details of their investigation into bullying accusations. I also think there are questions to be asked about individuals at Warwickshire other than Bresnan - when an experienced player is signed, the county is hiring a personality as well as a bundle of cricketing skills. I'm sure there's a lot of county gossip, what did people on the Warwickshire staff know about Bresnan and about accusations of racism and bullying? That might be a particularly uncomfortable question for Will Rhodes who would have known Bresnan from their days in the same Yorkshire squad.
It's also not clear who at Warwickshire has dealt with the investigation. If they have taken it seriously they would have appointed a barrister, someone trained in asking questions and assembling evidence.
It might be the case that Warwickshire have done all these things, but as members we don't know because we haven't been contacted about the issue and as far as I can see there is nothing on the web site about their "investigation". There is lots about the county board winning a "Chance to Shine" award. Maybe I'm too cynical but it seems to me Warwickshire view this as public relations problem not a racism problem.
Anyway I've probably rattled on for too long, but as I said a while ago everyone deserves a fair process. But that applies just a much to young players wanting to make their way at Edgbaston & Azeem Rafiq as it does to Tim Bresnan. As far as I can see the only process has been to brush the whole thing under the carpet.

I can understand that there are mixed views about the Tim Bresnan decision. Having read the Club's statement in full, however, I don't agree that the whole thing has been brushed under the carpet.
The Club statement was:
"Mark McCafferty, Chair of Warwickshire County Cricket Club, said: “The Club has now spoken at length with Azeem Rafiq and Tim Bresnan about their time at Yorkshire CCC.
“We are grateful for Azeem’s courage and perseverance in spotlighting these issues within the game. It’s clear that both players want to use their experience to support positive change and ensure all players can enjoy the game in a safe, inclusive and welcoming environment.
“Following on from these discussions, all cricketers and coaches at Warwickshire and its Academy will participate in further cultural awareness and appreciation training. Tim will be heavily involved in this process. He fully supports Warwickshire’s stance on inclusivity and understands our expectations of him as a player.
“This awareness training will also be extended to the Club’s wider management team to ensure they adopt the same inclusive principles in all aspects across the business. Warwickshire CCC is determined to reflect the communities we serve at every level, with Edgbaston a safe and welcoming place for all. Nothing will prevent us from achieving this goal.”
Tim Bresnan said: “I have apologised for any distress caused to Azeem when we were both part of the Yorkshire dressing room. I understand that there needs to be a shift in cultural awareness and understanding in the game.
“I am firmly committed to using my experience to support the next generation of Warwickshire cricketers, so that they can learn how to make the dressing room a safe and welcoming place for every cricketer to thrive.”

It's also my understanding that Azeem held lengthy conversations with Chief Executive Stuart Cain and he was in agreement with the end result. Stuart Cain is also meeting with and having telephone conversations with multiple former Warwickshire players to learn more about their experiences at the Club and how the Club can improve.

So that sounds to me much more than just a PR exercise.

Hopefully we will be updated on any further developments and planned actions by the Club.

A major cull of staff, with 16 leaving.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/59518669

Hopefully the replacements will be slected on merit and ability only.

If the incumbents were re-selected it certainly wouldn't be down to merit so it seems a moot point.

I guess they will get lots of help from the ECB/PCA with this as they may well be restarting as an academy side in CC Div 2 which seems almost certain. Plus there will probably be an exodus of their more senior players to other counties (mainly Surrey Hants or Notts) or to a year traipsing around the T20/T10/T1 circus

If I were Warks I'd ignore their first team and look at trying to pick off some of Tykes better young players who might end up getting released as a result of all this

I'd rather we backed our own.

I'm not sure what would get a middle-aged white Yorkshireman with virtually no previous coaching experience to the top of the list:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sportsnews/article-10273229/Ex-England-bowler-Darren-Gough-emerges-contender-director-cricket-role-Yorkshire.html