Club issues apology to David "Syd" Lawrence
27 September 2021
On Friday 3 September Sky Sports aired a programme called “You Guys are History“ which focused on the historical experiences of black players and officials playing cricket in England and Wales.
The programme included an interview with former Gloucestershire and England fast bowler, David “Syd” Lawrence, who spoke about the prejudices and challenges he faced during his playing career. He highlighted one particular incident that occurred in 1981 on his first County Championship away match for the Club.
Immediately after the transmission of the programme, and on hearing of this incident, the Club contacted David; he has now met both the Chair and Chief Executive to discuss this in detail. He also talked about another historical incident where he was racially abused by the crowd at an away fixture, but this was never investigated by the Club.
The behaviour and attitudes David experienced were as unacceptable then as they are today. The Club therefore wishes to apologise unreservedly to David for all the hurt he has experienced, both as a Gloucestershire player and as part of the wider cricketing network.
The Club would also like to apologise to any player or employee of the Club who may have experienced similar prejudices during their time at Gloucestershire. We are determined that no-one should have to experience such behaviours and we will continue to welcome feedback, from players past and present, in developing a welcoming and inclusive environment.
We would like to thank David for his openness, honesty and courage in coming forward and speaking up.
