Sport

Michael Vaughan opens up on the pain of ‘cancel culture’ following the Azeem Rafiq affair

  • 02. Apr 2023. 18:27
  • By The EU Times
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In a candid interview with the Daily Mail, former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan has spoken out about the pain of “cancel culture” following the Azeem Rafiq affair.

Rafiq, a former Yorkshire all-rounder, had accused the club of institutional racism and claimed he was treated unfairly during his time at Headingley.

Vaughan, who was captain of Yorkshire during Rafiq's tenure, has spoken out about the effects of cancel culture in the wake of the controversy.

“It's a very difficult thing to talk about,” he said. “But I think the best way to describe it is that it can be a very damaging thing. It's a form of public shaming and it can be very difficult to recover from.”

Vaughan went on to describe the impact cancel culture can have on a person's reputation. “It can be very damaging for someone's career and reputation,” he said. “It can be very difficult to come back from. It's something that I think is very damaging to the sport and it needs to be addressed.”

Vaughan also spoke about his own experiences with cancel culture, saying that it had been “very difficult” for him to deal with.

“I've had to face cancel culture myself,” he said. “It's something that I've had to learn to deal with and it's not easy. But it's something that I think needs to be addressed and it needs to be done in a way that is respectful and fair to everyone involved.”

Vaughan concluded his interview by stressing the importance of learning from the Rafiq affair and ensuring that cricket does not repeat the same mistakes.

“We need to learn from this and make sure that this doesn't happen again,” he said. “Cricket is a sport that should be open to everyone and there should be no place for discrimination of any kind.”