Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Kent chief blasts anti-social posts
Chairman Simon Philip admits it’s disappointing to see Kent fans engaging in “ad hominem attacks” on social media.
Philip has spoken about the issue in his report on the club’s 2022 financial results, set to be presented to members. “Something that seems to have been an unfortunate side effect of the pandemic is the coarsening of debate on social media,” he said.
“It has been very saddening to see some members engaging in ad hominem attacks on social media.
“While we all have views on the team’s performance, publicly directing insulting remarks at our people who have families and friends, questioning their competence, calling for their summary dismissal (in breach of employment law) and imputing that they have malign intentions, is wholly unacceptable.
“If members are ‘ashamed’ of supporting the club or believe that we should be refunding all subscriptions if we lose a few games (some of the comments during the summer), I suggest being an ‘owner’ of this great club is probably not for them.” Philip reminds supporters of the success Kent have had in the last five years - which includes winning the Royal London One-day Cup last year, the T20 Blast in 2021 and promotion to County Championship Division 1in2018.
He added: “These results are remarkably consistent for a county that labours at a huge disadvantage to those grounds that host international and Hundred cricket.
“They are testimony to the impact that Paul Downton (director of cricket), Matt Walker (head coach) and the rest of the cricket department have had on our performance. We will lose games, as it is an inevitability of professional sport.
“It will not be through a lack of competence and members should be reminded - when questioning on social media the skills and intentions of our hard-working professionals - that the group that made decisions in 2022 had played 247 international matches (red and white ball) and just under 3,000 domestic matches. Their body of experience on cricket matters is slightly more than that of their critics!
“Last year, sadly, I had to explain that those members who abuse, insult or disrespect our hard-working office staff will face expulsion from membership under the powers in the club’s constitution.
“Not only is this the right approach, but a requirement of employment law is that we provide a safe environment for our staff. This extends to social media, and we will not hesitate to react to harassment or abuse
of anyone who is employed by, or volunteers for, the club.
“As a counterpoint, the regular members’ forums have been conducted with good humour and in a very cordial atmosphere and these will continue, as they provide a vital interface between the club and our members.” Philip also supports Kent’s players - and coach Matt Walker who were once again involved in last year’s Hundred competition. He feels any county which tried to prevent players competing in the competition “would see an exodus” of players.
“One matter that needs to be addressed is the involvement of our men’s players and coaches in The Hundred,” Philip said. “Again, on social media, unsavoury words such as ‘mercenary’ and ‘traitor’ have been used to describe our people’s involvement, rather than playing or coaching in the One-day Cup.
“To be clear, any club which tried to prohibit its players
being drafted, thus truncating their earnings and opportunity to play in an elite tournament, would see an exodus that reduced it to the playing standard of a national county. “On the subject of our coaches participating, this is something that we actively encourage. “Matt Walker and Ryan ten Doeschate were both involved with our approval and full support in 2022.
“We will continue to encourage our coaches to take up both England secondments and opportunities in The Hundred, with the proviso being that we have adequate cover.” Philip’s comments come as Kent posted a loss of £30,728 for the year ending October 31, 2022, having reported a profit for the first time in three years 12 months ago. The surplus then had stood at £383,435.
The AGM for members is due to be held at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, Canterbury, from 7pm on Tuesday, March 28.