Chris Broad has stirred the hornet’s nest by suggesting that the ICC used to favour India while Broad was an active match referee. He cites a match where he was apparently called by an ICC official and asked to be lenient on Sourav Ganguly and India despite Sourav falling behind the over rate. While facts throw up a lot of other relevant details, and we will be putting them all out in the public domain, I want to restrict this comment to just one aspect of ethicality surrounding Broad’s statement.
Let me say this upfront- for the sake of argument I am taking every word said by Chris Broad on face value.
So why turn whistle blower now? Why not then? Why protect your own fat salary and pay check and expose things 20 years later when he has already enjoyed all the perks of being a referee and all the benefits of being associated with the ICC? Why now and how does it show Broad?
A statement against India will surely garner global eye balls. When a country wields power, there is always a narrative that will want to take that country down. Or show it in a bad light. Such a narrative will always sell for that’s how the world is and will be.
As one in a position of authority and also a former player, Broad was not one who needed to toe the line. He could have come forward and said things then. He did not. The only reason that can be surmised is that he feared for his job and decided to stay quiet. Now with nothing at stake, he has turned whistleblower.
How credible are these statements? Why now? Is the timing a little strange? In an age of social media madness, why make comments which will immediately be blown out of proportion? If he is writing a book and is about to do a tell all, it all makes sense for he can then monetise it and create a stir. The question is what is Broad not telling us rather than what he is telling us with these statements. Let’s leave it at that for the moment for multiple questions can be asked with little or no hope of getting proper answers.
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