Cricket Ireland condemn ‘vicious personal attack’ on John Mooney
Cricket Ireland have expressed their disgust after the Zimbabwe Herald published an inflammatory article about cricketer John Mooney yesterday, headlined “Alcoholic dumps Zim out of World Cup” and are considering further action.
The article centres around a contentious decision in the match between
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Mooney appeared to step on the boundary line when he caught a ball to dismiss Zimbabwe’s Sean Williams, who was closing in on a century at the bat.
Williams’ accepted Mooney’s word that he had not and left the field, and Ireland went on to win the game by five runs.
The article in the Herald described Mooney’s move as “a shameful piece of fielding dishonesty that has soiled this global cricket showcase”.
The article also launched a very personal attack on Mooney’s character, based on an interview the cricketer did on 2fm last year when he described honestly his personal battle with mental health issues and alcohol abuse.
In the show Mooney had descibed having suicidal thoughts and withdrawing from everyday life.
The Zimbabwean newspaper used his honesty in the interview to attack the player.
The article describes him as “a recovering alcoholic who was so depressed last year he contemplated killing himself” and inferred that as a result he could not be trusted.
It read: “For a man of such character, who has so much weighing down on his shoulders, it was very unlikely that, in the defining moment of such a big game, he could be trusted to have the honesty, let alone the decency, to concede that his foot touched the boundary.”
In a statement on their website, Cricket Ireland Chief Executive Warren Deutrom strongly condemned the article.
“It would be easy to dismiss it as a childish diatribe if it wasn’t for the vicious personal attack on John which cannot pass without comment, and possible action,” he wrote in the statement.
“John represents his country with honour, distinction and integrity. That he does in the face of personal challenges about which he has spoken openly and movingly demonstrates incredible hard work and great courage.
“We understand, as does John, that public figures may occasionally be subject to negative comment, but in mocking John in such a contemptuous fashion, and using his personal difficulties as a mere punchline, the Zimbabwe Herald has demonstrated breath-taking crassness and a gross error of editorial judgement. We have made contact with ICC to understand what remedies might be available to us.”
