Haskell backs ‘stitched up’ Cipriani
AS Danny Cipriani faced the final instalment of his disciplinary marathon last night, his long-time friend and team-mate James Haskell claimed the prolonged saga was another example of the harsh scrutiny on modern-day sportsmen.
The players have been colleagues for club and country over many years and Haskell expressed concern about what Cipriani has been subjected to since an early-hours incident outside a hotel bar in Jersey last week. Gloucester’s new fly-half pleaded guilty in court to common assault and resisting arrest, leading to a fine.
He was then fined and given community service by his new club, before going to Bristol for last night’s RFU hearing. As he waited to learn his fate, there was support from Haskell, the veteran flanker gearing up for a first season at Northampton. ‘Professional sport brings out the best and worst of people,’ said Haskell (below). ‘We go mad at people chasing and hitting balls and get fired up about it. Ben Stokes was a great example — people were ready to throw him under the bus — and it was the same with Danny. People love to hate him, but I know him as a good, hard-working guy.
‘I make more mistakes than most and have had my experiences with it. You have to deal with the consequences of it. It is unfortunate that when you have a profile, everything is multiplied by one million. I think Danny was very good about what he did with the apology. I think people should just get on with it and shut up. ‘Every sportsperson is under scrutiny, everyone is under scrutiny. You’ve got to understand that we now live in a world of stitch-up. We live in a world of the easy win. We live in a world where everyone’s a paparazzo — everyone’s recording everything. You’ve got to be whiter than white and not put yourself in those positions. You have to be concerned about how you conduct yourself in public — where you would go, what you would do. ‘I’m nobody but I still have that concern, where you’re thinking to yourself, “Do I want to be in this situation? Is this the right time to be out?”.’