No defence for offensive behaviour
Cricket authorities have reinforced a zero-tolerance attitude to unwanted fan behaviour at domestic and international matches.
A crowd of around 6000 enjoyed a Black Caps victory over England at Tuesday’s third Twenty20 International at Saxton Oval. However, Nelson woman Sharon Johnston was less than impressed with an offensive name written on the back of a spectator’s replica New Zealand team shirt.
The ‘‘name’’ was a play on the name of former Serbian leader and alleged war criminal Slobodan Milosevic, which made a blunt reference to oral sex.
Johnston said the fact that someone was openly wearing the shirt in a public place showed that there was still some way to go in addressing sexist attitudes towards women.
New Zealand Cricket has responded to her concerns, saying that with a long summer of domestic and international cricket still in its early overs, there will be a simple dismissal for those who overstep the mark at games this season.
Manager public affairs Richard Boock said the organisation’s position was that the name on the shirt was ‘‘offensive and unacceptable’’. It got past security staff at the ground only because it had not been understood due to its arcane form of spelling.
‘‘The security do a very good job.’’ Nelson Cricket Association chair Nettles Lamont
‘‘We will be asking our security providers to be vigilant for this type of breach in future games.’’
Nelson Cricket Association chair Nettles Lamont said there was no approach made to it on the day regarding the shirt. If the issue had been raised on the day, any action taken would have been guided by NZC’s stance that no offensive clothing should be allowed to enter a ground or be displayed there.
Lamont said Tuesday’s game had ‘‘marked a positive start to summer and the cricket season ahead’’, and had been a spectacular afternoon as Nelson went on show to cricket fans around the world.
‘‘Overall, the crowd were well behaved – the security do a very good job, as do our volunteer group and police.’’