ESSEX has been hit with another racist storm. Former bowler Jahid Ahmad claims he was asked, “Are You Going to Bomb the Club?”
Jahid, 35 is the third player to make a claim of historical racist abuse in the county this month, while John Faragher resigned after allegations that he used the word n-word during a board meeting.
Seamer Jahid describes his time in Essex, where he played seven first class matches between 2005 and 2009, as “a white man’s universe, where brown people were the outsiders”.
He claims that he has also been mocked because of his religion and accent.
Jahid said to the Cricketer Magazine: “I was with three players and one coach in the dressing room.
“One of the guys, who was younger than I was, felt that the best way to fit in with the group was to make fun of the Muslim. He kept asking him things like ‘Would You Bomb Us?’
“Those other footballers and the coach laughed, and he was viewed as a great boy. I dreaded the situation.
I was afraid of what they would say. I wanted to change the tone of my voice.
“I wanted to be accepted, but I was often laughed at by everyone in the dressing-room.
“It was basically ‘You are a Muslim. You’re terrorist.’ Other times, I was called a “curry muncher” and told I “stank of curry”.
It was bullying. “It happens every day.”
At least one of the alleged abusers still plays county cricket. Essex is investigating.
