The Australian cricket team left stupefied with the Captain Tim Paine stepping down his post after the reports of the investigation of sexting scandal involving a former Cricket Tasmania employee in 2017 came out. There are a few weeks left for the important Ashes series 2021 in which Tim was all set to lead the team but now Paine has announced his resignation in a press conference in Hobart on Friday afternoon.
According to the reports in the Herald Sun, the texts are dated to the eve and morning of the first Ashes Test at the Gabba in 2017. Many messages were too explicit to be published but the reports says that the exchange included Paine asking the woman, “Will you want to taste my *** ?? F*** me, I’m seriously hard”. Moreover it also included what is defined as a “dick pic”.
According to the investigations with the Australian Cricket authorities in June 2018, the Tasmanian female employee was offended by “Mr Paine’s sexually explicit, unwelcome and unsolicited photograph of his genitals in addition to the graphic sexual comments”.
The skipper Tim Paine became the captain of the team after a ball tampering scandal in South Africa in 2018 and now he has stated he will quit captaincy immediately.
Cricket Australia chairman Richard Freudenstein stated, “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.”
Meanwhile, Cricket Tasmania Chairman Andrew Gaggin stated, “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.”
The player was full of guilt and broke down in tears as he accepted the charges and stepped down the captaincy. He said, “It’s a difficult decision, but the right one for me, my family and cricket.”
“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.” He will still play as a player of the Australian team.
