Sri Lanka probe finds evidence of sex bribes in women's cricket team
Sri Lanka's sports ministry said on Friday that an investigation had
found evidence that members of the national women's cricket team had
been forced to perform sexual favours for officials in order to earn or
keep their places in the squad.
Sri Lanka Cricket, the controlling body for the island nation's most
popular sport, ordered an investigation in November after reports
emerged alleging officials had asked female cricketers for sex in
exchange for being on the team.
A three-member committee, headed by retired Supreme Court judge Nimal
Dissanayake, submitted its findings in a report to the sport's ministry
on Wednesday.
"The committee report found evidence of sexual harassment by members
of the Sri Lanka cricket women's management team against several members
of the Sri Lanka cricket women's team," the sports ministry said in a
statement.
"The (sports) minister intends to take disciplinary actions against
those members where evidence has been found."
The statement did not give any details of what evidence had been
found, which officials were involved, or what kind of action would be
taken.
Local media reports in late October quoted an unnamed senior female
cricketer, who claimed that team management and officials selecting
players had asked women cricketers to have sex with them if they wanted
to make the team.
The allegations, which first appeared in the Sinhala-language
newspaper Divaina, said the senior player was dropped from the squad
after she refused to perform sexual favours.
Sri Lanka's women cricket team, which lost a four one-day match
series by 1-3 to West Indies on Wednesday, is ranked sixth in the world
in one-day international games after Australia, South Africa, West
Indies, Pakistan, and England by the International Cricket Council.
(Times of India) |