ICC proposes ban for players, coaches and officials accused of sexual harassment

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is set to clamp down on sexual harassment cases within cricket with its new proposal. According to reports, the ICC is likely to impose bans on players, coaches, support staff and officials accused of misconduct. In case any such allegations surface and are found to be true, the individuals in question will be banned from participating in ICC events. At a time when the much-talked-about #MeToo movement is helping women speak out against sexual offenders, the ICC is keen on leading the efforts to drive misconduct out of workplaces across its member nations and the sport of cricket.

The proposal will be discussed at an upcoming two-day ICC meeting in Singapore. The chief executives of all Test playing nations will be present at the meeting, according to reports in the Mumbai Mirror. As per the proposal, the ban will not just affect players and the support staff, but will even extend to officials, journalists and advertisers accused of sexual misconduct. As a result, they will not be allowed to enter stadiums during ICC tournaments, including the ICC World T20 and the ICC Cricket World Cup.

Recently, CEO and notable figure of the BCCI Rahul Johri was forced to sit out of the above-mentioned ICC meeting after he was accused of sexual misconduct by an anonymous woman on social media. The Committee of Administrators (CoA) which has been appointed to oversee the operations of the BCCI by the Supreme Court, has given Johri a period of 14 days to explain himself about the allegations. The CoA has also ordered BCCI’s acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary to replace Johri at the ICC meeting.

Women to have easy and confidential process to lodge complaints: ICC

“The policy we are proposing to put in place includes the rights of the women working in the ICC events. For instance, if a woman journalist is harassed during an ICC event, she will have prompt, easy and confidential process to lodge a complaint. It’s for everyone involved to declare that cricket will not tolerate sexual harassment,” an ICC official was quoted as saying in the Mumbai Mirror.

“We aim to have better protection for children and adult participants. The players will be required to come up with better behaviour off the field as well,” the official added.

The #MeToo movement hit cricket very recently after an anonymous woman accused Sri Lanka pacer Lasith Malinga of sexual misconduct at a Mumbai hotel during the Indian Premier League. Meanwhile, an Indian flight attendant also said that former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga had allegedly tried to grab her by the waist at a hotel in Mumbai.

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