Cricket Australia puts Andrew Symonds’ reconciliation process at the top of the batting order
Andrew Symonds says his life spiralled out of control through a haze of booze following the infamous ‘Monkeygate’ racism scandal. Now Cricket Australia wants to right that wrong.
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Cricket Australia has offered Andrew Symonds an open invitation to chat to them about 12-year-old scars that have never properly healed from the infamous ‘Monkeygate’ racism scandal.
The organisation has bravely resolved to look itself in the mirror in a bid to truly practice what they preach in regards to reconciliation and promoting greater cultural awareness and diversity in cricket.
Twenty20 superstar Dan Christian has opened up about the casual racism he has experienced in cricket and called on the game to better educate players on cultural issues as part of a new online panel show initiative from Cricket Australia called Cricket Connecting Country, which is encouraging participants to be upfront about their experiences, even if that means holding the game to account for past failings.
Symonds, known effectionately as Roy, has opened up in recent years about how he fell into a spiral of alcohol abuse following an ugly racism scandal where he and several Australian players claimed Indian star Harbhajan Singh called him a ‘monkey’ during a Test at the SCG in 2008.
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting said a number of years ago that the CA administration of the time had let down Symonds by refusing to take a more powerful stand against the might of the Indian cricket board.
Cricket Australia’s Diversity and Inclusion Manager Adam Cassidy said that it was imperative that the game is able to properly confront its past if it’s to fulfil the aim of being leaders in Indigenous and cultural affairs.
Cassidy said no pressure would be placed on Symonds to speak about his experiences, but that the game would welcome any chance to sit down and listen.
“I personally don’t know Andrew myself and I think what’s really important is that the burden of responsibility to talk about this stuff or to come forward should never really sit with anyone who has experienced any form of discrimination or racism,” Cassidy said.
“We are really conscious that by doing this what we’re trying to provide is a safe platform and to show that we’re a sport that is very happy to reach out and listen to people’s stories if that’s what they’re comfortable doing.
“Yes we’ve got some people who have been reaching out to Andrew just to check in on him, but to be very clear, this is not about him necessarily. But having said that, if he wants to come and chat to us we’re very, very keen to chat through his experience with him and see what we can do to help.”
Cricket Australia is determined to celebrate Indigenous culture, and the Australian men’s and women’s teams are set to recognise Aboriginal people during respective international matches this summer.
But Cassidy said hard conversations also had to be had.
“True reconciliation is when you also acknowledge things that perhaps haven’t been as good in the past and rectifying those appropriately,” he said.
“That’s where this series (Cricket Connecting Country) is contributing to.
“A big unknown is how big the wound is at grass roots level across all sport.
“While it’s really difficult as a national body to be directly accountable or directly influence that, we have a huge responsibility to educate as best we can so the grass roots club environment is a safe space for everybody to be involved in.
“We may also find things over the years that … the ecosystem of cricket has caused. And they’re things we’d have to address separately to the grass roots stuff as well.
“It will be interesting. I would like to think it’s brave but sometimes I think you’ve got to get vulnerable and you’ve got to get brave if you’re going to make change. If it’s comfortable then we’re probably not doing enough.”
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CHRISTIAN SAYS ‘CASUAL RACISM’ STILL AN ISSUE FOR CRICKET
Australian T20 specialist Dan Christian has opened up on the ”casual racism” he says he has encountered throughout his playing career and how he’s started to receive apologies in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Christian has been a champion of Indigenous causes throughout his sporting life and pushed Cricket Australia officials for an Indigenous round as part of the Big Bash.
The all-rounder, one of just six Indigenous people to play for Australia at international level after making 35 white-ball appearances for Australia, said lack of education and “ignorance” were the root cause of the problems.
In a discussion as part of Cricket Australia’s moves to address past and present mistakes in dealing with Indigenous players and racial issues, the Cricket Connecting Country series, Christian said it remained an issue.
“I think it is an issue in Australian cricket, I don’t think it’s as in your face as you might see around the world or even elsewhere in Australian culture,” Christian said in the panel discussion.
“I think it’s definitely there, it’s more of a casual racism, just little throwaway lines here and there made to be jokes, and a lot of that for me personally has been around the colour of my skin and the fact that I don’t look Aboriginal or whatever that means. That’s the most noticeable thing for me.
“It‘s just something that comes with a lack of education and an ignorance. I don’t think a lot of people say it with any kind of malice, it’s just that they don’t understand and don’t know.
“We just need to educate ourselves and encourage others around us to educate themselves.
“And part of that education is calling it out and having the guts to call it out. That’s the hardest thing; to not just let it go and pretend it didn’t happen. Confront someone when you hear about it and encourage your friends and people around you to call it out as well.”
Christian said the issue had come to the fore in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement growing, and people were awake to wanting to address it.
“I’ve received a lot of messages over the past few months from people I’ve played with and against that have said ‘sorry if I’ve ever said anything to you that you’ve been offended by, please help I’d love to know more about your personal story, your family story, things that I can do in the community to try and help out’ and so from that perspective,” he said.
“I think it’s been a wonderful thing to have happened to be able to have that conversation and for people to want to make change.”
But Christian also said more education and training was needed around awareness of racial issues, noting it hadn’t been present through most of his 20-year career.
“Not once have I ever been through any kind of training or heard about any kind of training like that throughout cricket,” he said.
“So that’s one thing we could at least do to raise some awareness and to educate people within our sport. I just don’t think that’s something we’ve ever looked at in the past, and I think particularly now is a great chance to do something like that.”
Originally published as Cricket Australia puts Andrew Symonds’ reconciliation process at the top of the batting order