'There's no space for racism or discrimination in sport or society'- Kane Williamson on Yorkshire racism row

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has reacted to the allegations made by his former County team Yorkshire ahead of the third Test against England on June 23. As per reports, the final Test match was nearly moved from the county’s Headingley headquarters in the aftermath of the racism row involving Pakistan-born spinner Azeem Rafiq.

Williamson, meanwhile, made it clear that there is no space whatsoever for discrimination of any kind be it in sports or society. He said that he enjoyed his time at Yorkshire and explained the awareness being made to fight against discrimination. The New Zealand skipper was one of the overseas signings for Yorkshire from 2014 to 2018.

“It’s been incredibly sad to see what’s unfolded. I can only hope that something positive comes out of it and the awareness that it’s created to move forward in a positive manner,” Williamson was quoted as saying by News18.

“There is no space for racism or discrimination in sport or society. I was here for a few brief stints and enjoyed my time at Yorkshire.  There were some issues that were made aware more recently and you can only hope that there is healing. There’s been a huge amount of awareness throughout the whole world, efforts to continue that awareness and make it a more inclusive place, whether in sport or other work places,” he added.

As far as the Yorkshire case is concerned, Rafiq had accused the Cricket club of racism and bullying in September 2020, related to his two spells at the club. Yorkshire found itself in hot waters soon after the allegations were proven right after the Pakistani-born cricketer had presented conclusive evidence to a parliamentary committee last year for which the club failed to take any disciplinary action against the culprits.

Condemning this act, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) also threatened to take away all international games from Headingley as punishment. Meanwhile, Rafiq had also accused former England skipper Michael Vaughan of being involved in this act.