Fresh twist with charges revealed after Tim Paine quits as Test captain amid sexting scandal
Tim Paine has stood down as Australia captain after being
investigated by Cricket Australia over sending a co-worker an explicit image of
himself along with a string of lewd messages.
The 36-year-old was promoted to captain following the ball
tampering scandal in South Africa in 2018 but has resigned in shame following
the latest scandal to rock Australian cricket.
In a statement, Paine told Cricket Australia that he will
quit as captain, effective immediately.
Cricket Australia chairman Richard Freudenstein said: “Tim
felt it was in the best interests of his family and Australian cricket to take
this decision to step down as captain.
“The Board has accepted Tim’s resignation and will now work
through a process with the National Selection Panel of identifying and
appointing a new captain.”
But it has been revealed the woman involved had charges of
theft laid against her in mid-2018.
“The allegations raised against Tim Paine by a former
Cricket Tasmania employee were only brought to the attention of Cricket
Tasmania when formal charges of theft were laid against that employee in mid
2018,” Cricket Tasmania said in a statement.
“Cricket Tasmania Chairman, Andrew Gaggin, said there was no
complaint raised at the time of the incident in November 2017, nor when the
employee’s position with the organisation was terminated.”
Gaggin said: “As soon as Cricket Tasmania was made aware, it
undertook an investigation that determined the interaction was consensual,
private, occurred on the one occasion only, was between mature adults and was
not repeated.
“Cricket Tasmania clearly does not condone this type of
behaviour and addressed the matter directly with Tim Paine.
“However, because of the consensual nature of the actions it
was determined that no further action was required or appropriate.”
Paine broke down in tears as he faced the media and
confirmed how he was embroiled in the text exchange and that he would be
stepping down as captain of the team.
He did however say he would still remain a part of the team.
“Today I am announcing my decision to stand down as captain
of the Australian men’s cricket team. It’s a difficult decision, but the right
one for me, my family and cricket.
“Nearly four years ago, I was involved in a text exchange
with a then-colleague.
“At the time, the exchange was the subject of a thorough CA
Integrity Unit investigation, throughout which I fully participated in and
openly participated in. That investigation and a Cricket Tasmania HR
investigation at the same time found that there had been no breach of the
Cricket Australia Code of Conduct.
“Although exonerated, I deeply regretted this incident at
the time, and still do today. I spoke to my wife and family at the time and am
enormously grateful for their forgiveness and support. We thought this incident
was behind us and that I could focus entirely on the team, as I have done for
the last three or four years.
“However, I recently became aware that this private text
exchange was going to become public. On reflection, my actions in 2017 do not
meet the standard of an Australian cricket captain, or the wider community. I’m
deeply sorry for the hurt and pain that I have caused to my wife, my family,
and to the other party.
“I’m sorry for the damage that this does to the reputation
of our sport. And I believe that it is the right decision for me to stand down
as captain, effective immediately. I do not want this to become an unwelcome
disruption to the team ahead of what is a huge Ashes Series. I have loved my
role as captain of the Australian cricket team. It’s been the greatest
privilege of my sporting life to lead the Australian men’s test team.
“I’m grateful for the support of my teammates and proud of
what we’ve been able to achieve together. To them, I ask for their
understanding and forgiveness. To Australian cricket fans - deeply sorry that
my past behaviour has impacted our game on the eve of the Ashes. For the
disappointment I have caused to fans and the entire cricket community, I
apologise. I’ve been blessed with a wonderful, loving and supportive family,
and it breaks my heart to know how much I’ve let them down. They have always
stood by me, been my most loyal fans, and I’m indebted to them for their
support.
“I will remain a committed member of the Australian cricket
team, and look forward with anticipation to what is a huge Ashes tour. Thank
you.”
According to the Herald Sun, the messages date back to the
eve and the morning of the first Ashes Test at the Gabba in 2017.
They report that while some of the messages were too explicit
to publish, the exchange included Paine suggesting to the woman: “Will you want
to taste my *** ?? F*** me, I’m seriously hard.”
The messages also included what was described in the texts
as a “dick pic”.
In a correspondence with Australia Cricket authorities in
June 2018, the woman claimed she was offended by “Mr Paine’s sexually explicit,
unwelcome and unsolicited photograph of his genitals in addition to the graphic
sexual comments”.
Cricket Australia reportedly became aware of the messages as
long ago as March 2018 after letter of complaint were sent to Cricket Australia
and to Cricket Tasmania - the latter of which she worked at before resigning in
2017.
In a statement, Cricket Tasmania said: “As soon as Cricket
Tasmania was made aware, it undertook an investigation that determined the
interaction was consensual, private, occurred on the one occasion only, was
between mature adults and was not repeated,” he said.
“Cricket Tasmania clearly does not condone this type of
behaviour and addressed the matter directly with Tim Paine.
“However, because of the consensual nature of the actions it
was determined that no further action was required or appropriate.”
It is also reported that complaints were made to the
Australian Human Rights Commission regarding alleged sexual harrassment in
releation to the exchange.
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