Alex Hales reprimanded over old 'blackface' photo: Details here
England opener Alex Hales has been reprimanded by the Cricket Discipline Commission (CDC) over an old infamous 'blackface' photo of him at a student party. The photo was published by English newspaper The Sun last year, and the batter was subsequently investigated by Nottinghamshire. As Hales issued an apology at that time, he questioned the need for "repeated publication of the matter." Here's more.
Why does this story matter?
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) describes CDC as the body that looks into disciplinary cases in the domestic game in England. Hales posted that photo back in 2009. He was fined in August, and he accepted the charges. While Hales wasn't amused with the matter getting more airtime, Chris Tickle, the adjudicator, ruled that the "interests of transparency should prevail".
What were the charges on Hales?
In August, Hales was charged for breaching ECB's directive 3.3, which states, "No such person may conduct himself in a manner or do any act which may be prejudicial to the interests of cricket or which may bring the game of cricket into disrepute."
Hales accepted the charges
Besides admitting the charges, Hales told CDC's investigation that he had taken steps "to ensure that the photo could not be linked to any of his social media accounts." As per the CDC report, ECB argued that Hales' Bristol street fight in 2017 should be considered as "an aggravating factor", but Tickle disagreed, saying the two incidents are not related.
Times when Hales was found guilty of breaching disciplinary norms
In 2017, Hales, alongside all-rounder Ben Stokes, got involved in a fight with two people outside a nightclub in Bristol. The duo was subsequently handed heavy fines. Two years later, the dasher failed a second recreational drug test. As a result, he was dropped from England's 2019 World Cup squad. He had to wait over three years to earn an England call-up.
