Morgan cited a passage from Vaughan’s book
Piers Morgan has come out in defence of former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan, following allegations that he had made racist comments during his time as a Yorkshire CCC player.
Azeem Rafiq has fought tirelessly over the last 18 months to hold Yorkshire CCC accountable for its alleged institutional racism, with a recent report finding that he had been “the victim of racial harassment and bullying.”
Among several allegations, Vaughan is accused of saying to Rafiq and two other Asian players that there were “too many of you lot, we need to do something about it” in 2009.
Vaughan categorically denied making the comment.
England spinner Adil Rashid has since corroborated Rafiq’s accusation, confirming to The Cricketer magazine: “I wanted to concentrate as much as possible on my cricket and to avoid distractions to the detriment of the team but I can confirm Azeem Rafiq’s recollection of Michael Vaughan’s comments to a group of us Asian players.”
And now Piers Morgan, a friend of Vaughan’s, has come out in defence of Vaughan, claiming a passage from his autobiography shows he thought ‘the opposite’ of what he is accused of saying.
“To those rushing to cancel @MichaelVaughan for making an alleged racist remark that he emphatically denies saying, I suggest they read this extract from his 2009 autobiography before rushing to judgement – it shows he thought the complete opposite to what he’s accused of saying,” he posted to his 7.9 million Twitter followers.
To those rushing to cancel @MichaelVaughan for making an alleged racist remark that he emphatically denies saying, I suggest they read this extract from his 2009 autobiography before rushing to judgement – it shows he thought the complete opposite to what he’s accused of saying. pic.twitter.com/lXMSXTBFIZ
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) November 15, 2021
The passage cited recalls a significant moment for Yorkshire CCC, as it would be “the first time we had four players of Asian heritage featuring for Yorkshire, Pakistan’s Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and the homegrown Ajmal Shahzad, Adil Rashid and Azeem Rafiq.
“This is going to be the shape of things to come for Yorkshire, as many of our most promising players come from the Asian community and it ought to be a good thing for our cricket.”
Morgan has unsurprisingly come under criticism for this flimsy defence, with Amar Singh sarcastically responding: “Oh he said something nice about Asians in his autobiography, the most accurate, unbiased reflection of someone’s personality.”
Since the allegations against Vaughan came to light, he has not been presenting on his BBC Radio Show, Tuffers and Vaughan. Meanwhile, Yorkshire CCC lost the right to host matches at Headingley and have seen numerous sponsors, including Yorkshire Tea, cut ties with the club.
