Yorkshire says former player was victim of racial harassment

LEEDS, England (AP) — English county cricket team Yorkshire has acknowledged that one of its former players was the victim of racial harassment and bullying. Azeem Rafiq, a former England Under-19 captain, said in interviews last year that as a Muslim he was made to feel like an “outsider” during his time at Yorkshire from 2008-18 and that he was close to taking his own life. Rafiq was Yorkshire’s youngest ever captain when he led the team in a Twenty20 match in 2012. A formal investigation was commissioned by Yorkshire into Rafiq’s claims and a summary of an independent panel’s findings and recommendations has finally been published. Yorkshire says Rafiq made more than 40 allegations, seven of which were upheld in the report.