No one, under any circumstances should be assaulted. It's a terrible thing to go through. This includes the sporting industry. A sporting environment could be argued to be sacred. In a way, it's an environment of trust. Yet, For example, the Bangladesh coach has been sacked for violating that very trust that has been made.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) recently fired it's head coach, Chandika Hathurusinghe, for the alleged "assault" of a player during the 2023 ODI World Cup. He had been suspended for 48 hours in lieu of a notice period and he is to be "terminated immediately" after that period. He was also served a show-cause notice by the board.
"Hathurusinghe has two counts of misconduct," BCB president, Faruque Ahmed, said at a press conference in Dhaka on Tuesday. "First is about an assault on a player. Secondly, he took too many leaves, more than what was in his contract."
The suspension-cum-sacking is because of an incident at the 2023 World Cup when, during a match against New Zealand in Chennai, Hathurusinghe allegedly hit a player during one of the drinks breaks. As per ESPNcricinfo, the player had had a slightly delayed reaction to the drinks break - he had been tasked with taking drinks out to his batters in the middle - prompting Hathurusinghe's reaction. Apparent eyewitnesses reported the incident to the BCB's higher-ups in Kolkata two weeks later but it went unaddressed.
Ahmed also said that Hathurusinghe was guilty of misconduct as a BCB employee because of all the extra leave he took. As per ESPNcricinfo, Hathurusinghe's contract with the BCB capped his leave at 45 days per year but he took 112 days in 2023 and 59 days unitll date in 2024.
The BCB's chief executive, Nizamuddin Chowdhury, handed over a letter to Hathurusinghe, informing him of the decision, at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, hours before Ahmed's media announcement.
"There were couple of incidents about the current coach which, for me as a former player, were quite painful," Ahmed told the media. "As it doesn't set a good example for the Bangladesh team, we have served him with a show-cause notice and suspension from duty as head coach today. His suspension is for a 48-hour notice period, which we are not bound to give him. But we did it out of courtesy as he is an international figure. We have suspended him, and with immediate effect afterwards he will be terminated."
"There was a misconduct with a player, and misconduct as an employee. He also spent more than three months [on leave], that is also a large part of his misconduct. He informed us in a scattered way, in one or two emails, that he has to go home. It can't be for more than three months. Even as a board president, I cannot do what I want. I am guided by some rules. It is the norm. So there was a serious breach in that regard."
Ahmed would not name the player involved in the alleged assault incident. "It was a sad incident for the particular player. I am not defending anyone, anything might happen in the heat of the moment, but you cannot hit a player. It is not on. This is the right punishment. It should have happened some time ago," he said.
"The victim is not very comfortable about it. I will not mention his name. We will only talk about the misconduct. This incident shouldn't have happened."
Ahmed said he had read about the incident before he became the BCB chief, and he started an investigation after being elected to the post in August.
"I investigated myself. I spoke to the victim. I spoke to the eyewitnesses," Ahmed said. "Both of their versions are already in the report. [The incident] was mentioned in a previous report.
"I remember feeling really disappointed when I read about the incident last year. I felt something should have be been done about it at the time. The ICC is quite strong about racism and abuse. They would be more serious about assault."
Hathurusinghe returned for his second stint as Bangladesh coach in February 2023. In August this year, shortly after Ahmed was appointed as board president, he had said that Hathurusinghe should no longer continue as Bangladesh's head coach. Ahmed said Hathurusinghe's sacking had nothing to do with "personal reasons" though.
"When I spoke about Hathurusinghe previously [before being elected BCB president], I spoke as a former player who was assessing a coach. I said at the time that he doesn't have much more to give to Bangladesh. My decision today isn't influenced by personal reasons.
Under Hathurusinghe, Bangladesh produced underwhelming performances during last year's ODI World Cup and this year's T20 World Cup. His biggest achievement in this stint was Bangladesh's 2-0 Test series win against Pakistan in August. It was their maiden win in Pakistan and first overseas Test series win in 15 years. However, following that, in India, they lost 2-0 in the Tests and 3-0 in the T20is which included a 133-run thrashing in the third match.
In another story, a Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Famer and British Columbia lacrosse coach has been sentenced to 18 months probation for assaulting a player. B.C. Provincial Court Judge, Nicholas Preovolos, delivered his ruling to 59-year-old Rick Mang on Wednesday in Port Coquitlam.
Mang was charged with one count of sexual assault and one count of assault in October 2023 in relation to an incident that happened at a sports centre the year prior. Mang pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of assault following discussions between his defence team and Crown counsel, according to the B.C. Prosecution Service. His lawyer declined to comment on the case.
The player who was assaulted is a woman in her 20's who can't be identified due to a publication ban. She said she reported what happened to her to prevent other athletes from experiencing the same and to raise concerns about how sports organisations handle abuse complaints. In her case, delays by a B.C. association allowed Mang to remain accredited for months after he was suspended. "I spoke up to protect others, especially young female athletes," the woman said. "Although they may never know my story and the battles I fought, I did it for them."
According to an agreed statement of facts, the assault occurred when Mang and a group of players were gathered in a parking lot after a tournament in July 2022.
The court document says Mang was "visibly intoxicated" when his hands slid down the woman's back and touched her "buttocks." He also hugged the woman from the side and from behind and brushed up against her breasts.
The statement of facts says Mang called the young player "sugar," "mama" and his "lacrosse wife," and made a comment about his "lacrosse stick," which the woman interpreted as a reference to his penis.
During part of his probation, Mang must abide by a number of conditions, including a 18:00 curfew. He also must complete 40 hours of community service and a forensic sex offender program. In ordering the latter, the judge noted that while Mang only pleaded guilty to assault, the offence was "sexual in nature."
Assault isn't a funny thing. It's a serious act that needs more attention than it currently does. If it doesn't gain much more attention, there is a strong possibility that more and more people will believe it's okay when, in fact, it isn't.