Public hangings of flawed men is not the meaningful change sport requires

PLUS: The Week That Was and the Weekend That Will Be

Tim Paine walked away from cricket today. Photo / Getty Images

It was nice of the National Party to take time out of their exiled days to remind us that it’s not just sport grappling with the issue of men reconciling troubling exchanges in their pasts.

This is hazardous territory to broach, especially if you’re a male, but it does seem pertinent to ask in the wake of the travails of Azeem Rafiq, Tim Paine, Alex Hales and our very own Olympic legend Alan Thompson, what is the end game here?

Have we now entered a giant game of gotcha, where every utterance, SMS, post or fancy-dress costume from the past is analysed with the aim of inflicting maximum embarrassment on those who have been found to have breached the codes of modern-day morality?

If that’s the goal, it worked with Paine, who has withdrawn from all cricket amid concerns for his and his wife Bonnie’s wellbeing.

While it’s difficult to cry for Paine, we’re in danger of losing sight of what matters, which is to create environments where these sorts of gross human errors are far less likely to happen; to create environments where young men know beforehand that painting your face black and going to a New Year’s Eve party as Tupac Shakur is offensive, not be informed of it later when a photo emerges.