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A day after the entire board members of Cricket Scotland stepped down due to reports of ‘institutional racism’, the findings of the survey have been made public and it has been confirmed that there have been many instances of racism and discrimination within Scotland Cricket. The report published has confirmed that there were 448 examples that demonstrated institutional racism, with 62% of survey respondents saying that they had experienced, seen, or had reported to them incidents of racism, inequalities, or discrimination.
Plan4Sport, commissioned by SportScotland, was tasked with leading the review in December last year, and over the course of the last few months, the body engaged with over 1,000 people at all levels of Scottish cricket. The review was commissioned after allegations were made by one of the country's all-time leading wicket-takers, Majid Haq, who said Cricket Scotland was "institutionally racist".
Now, the MD of the organization has openly claimed that the governance has been racist over the years. "Our view is clear: the governance and leadership practices of Cricket Scotland have been institutionally racist," Louise Tideswell, managing director of Plan4Sport said in a statement. "Over the review period, we have seen the bravery of so many people coming forward to share their stories which had clearly impacted on their lives."
"The reality is that the leadership of the organization failed to see the problems and, in failing to do so, enabled a culture of racially aggravated micro-aggressions to develop. It didn't address the lack of diversity at board and staff level and missed the need to develop transparent reporting, investigation and case management processes to address incidents of racism and discrimination", he further added.
The review further added that the people who complained about racism and discrimination were sidelined and ignored. It further suggested that Cricket Scotland must be placed in "special measures" by SportScotland until at least October 2023 and new board members be appointed no later than September 30 this year.
"The diversity of board members should be a minimum of 40% men and 40% women, ensuring that a minimum of 25% of the total board makeup come from of Black, South-East Asian, or other mixed or multiple ethnic groups," it added.
Meanwhile, Cricket Scotland Interim Chief Executive Officer, Gordon Arthur issued an apology after the report was made public. “The racism and discrimination that has taken place in the sport that we all love should never have been allowed to happen, or to go unchallenged for so long," he said.
“I would like to again issue a heartfelt apology to all those who have been the victims of racism and discrimination in Scottish cricket. We recognise the impact this will have had on individuals and their families. We hope the report provides them with some reassurance that their voices have been heard, and we are sorry this did not happen sooner", Arthur added.