AN OPEN LETTER TO CRICKETER STEVE SMITH
WATCHING your press conference on Thursday night, I really felt for you. Your remorse seemed genuine, your emotion raw, your guilt obvious, your failings exposed. You looked broken. A young man who had ignorantly broken one of the laws of cricket found himself carrying the weight of his family, his young fans, his nation and even the entire cricket world.
In the space of a few days, you have gone from a hero, a talented cricketer, a remarkable batsman, to a villain, a cheat, a despised human being. It’s funny, strange even, how the world can turn so abruptly. One minute, a celebrated role model, the next, a discarded waste of space. The media turns on you, eager to cash in on the next ‘big’ story. Fans turn on you, believing we would never do the same if we were in your position. Your sponsors turn on you, desperate to protect their profits. And your na- tion turns on you, because we don’t like tall poppies.
I write this on Easter weekend, thinking of another human being who, almost 2000 years earlier, also paid a heavy price. He was mocked, humiliated, crucified. The crowd baying for his blood. Authorities washing their hands of any guilt of their own.
Yes, it could be argued Jesus went to the cross innocent of His crimes and you have been found guilty.
But guilty of what? Violating Law 41.3.2? Yes, ball tampering is against the rules. But somehow, I think you are paying the much bigger price for having what some say is the second most important job in Australia. And for a male in his mid-20s, that is a massive burden to carry. If only the top job, that of Prime Minister, was held to the same account for the mistakes they have made.
For all the good that Jesus did before His sacrificial death, it is what followed that really set Him apart. For your sake, I hope that you can find the strength to push through this moment of pain, the time away from cricket, the loss of earnings, the feeling of helplessness. Go on and leave a legacy greater than the one you were building before this dark day.
Yes, Steve, you violated the laws of cricket. But you didn’t damage the ‘spirit of the game’. That was done long ago, when prizemoney, exorbitant wages, betting, media rights and corporate sponsorship took the joy out of competing just for the love of it. Rick Geall