Candice Warner has opened up about the ‘vile abuse’ she received from a group of cricket fans whilst her daughters were by her side.
The wife of Aussie cricketer David Warner broke down last week after opening up about the ‘hell’ her family had been through as a result of ‘Sandpapergate’ scandal.
The 2018 ball-tampering scandal in South Africa has once again been given the limelight after David Warner withdrew his request to overturn his leadership ban.
David had been accused of leading the ploy to tamper with the ball and gain an advantage against South Africa.
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Warner had been given a lifetime leadership ban, which he was hoping to have overturned, however, withdrew his appeal after claiming the review panel wanted to make it a ‘media circus’.
He wrote on Instagram: “My family is more important to me than cricket.”
His wife Candice, who hosts Triple M’s Summer Breakfast radio program with Harley Breen and Tom Tiley, gave an example of some of the ordeals she and her family have faced as a result of the controversy.
During Australia's win against West Indies last week, she recalled the vitriol and insults she received from a group of men at the Adelaide test.
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She said: “In that time, I had two of my three daughters, my eight-year-old and my three-year-old, we were walking hand-in-hand, and as we’re walking past a huge group of people, it was a group of five or six men who just started throwing vile abuse at me.
“I continued to walk and then I just stopped and I looked around at this group of men and it was one guy in particular. And they were laughing and they were pointing. And they thought what they did was okay.
“So I decided to confront them. I didn’t have to, but with my girls in my hands, I thought it was really important to confront them because for us, my actions need to mirror the messages I give to my kids.
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“So I confronted them and like any group of men who have been drinking, they were weak, they were gutless, they didn’t own up to what they did and the man who was actual yelling this abuse was hiding behind his friend.”
Candice revealed that she let the men know their actions were unaccetable, however, was upset that no one else had come to her support in the crowd.
She continued: “I said ‘Do you feel good about yourself, trying to intimidate me, to belittle me, embarrass me in front of my kids? You clearly don’t have kids yourself, it’s not okay. It’s not okay to bully someone, it’s not okay to make fun of other people.
“The thing that disappointed me was, one, the fact they thought it was funny, two, that they couldn’t own up to their mistake, but the fact that in a packed stadium, when they could see a mother with two kids clearly in distress, my girls were upset, not one single person came to my assistance. Not one.
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“The sad thing is that in a time when we’re trying to encourage more women, more girls to participate in sport, to attend sport, that I’m now starting to feel like it’s not safe for me and my kids to attend sport and support their father.”
She admitted that the cricket no longer felt like a safe space for her family and that at times the abuse would even be directed at her daughters who would don their father’s name and jersey.
Jayden Collins