Australian cricketer Steve O’Keefe was fined $20,000 for making inappropriate comments on the Australian female cricketer Rachael Haynes, it has been revealed.
The reports suggest that the female Australian cricketer was at her target when the incident happened during an official Cricket NSW function.
The Board took a notice of it and straightaway reprimanded Keefe and imposed a hefty fine on him. Along with that, the left-arm spinner has also been barred from playing Matador cup at the end of the year,
‘He’s lucky they didn’t tear up his contract. Drunken abuse of anyone at a function is unacceptable but far worse when it’s directed at a woman,’ an official said.
Keefe too had issued a statement after being banned and penalised which read as,
“At an official Cricket NSW function, I became intoxicated and made highly inappropriate comments. There is no excuse for this and I take full responsibility and offer an unconditional apology. I accept the sanctions imposed by Cricket Australia and Cricket NSW and welcome the chance to receive specialist counselling.
“I have a big challenge ahead and I am determined to meet it with actions, not just words. To all of the members of the cricket family, I love and respect so much, again, apologies for letting you down.”
This was not the first time when Keefe was fined for inappropriate behaviour, as last year in the month of August, he was fined by Cricket Australia when he forcefully tried to enter licensed premises and misbehaved when stopped by security guards.
A criminal infringement notice was also issued against him by the New South Wales police.
Keefe’s strange actions have come after he had a great Test series against India where he scalped a total of 19 victims. Keefe made an impactful entry in the series by taking match-winning 12 wickets in the first Test at Pune.
However, his form dipped in following games but he was fortunate no to lose his place to either Ashton Agar or Mitchell Swepson. He ended the series as the third highest wicket-taker after Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin.
In total, Keefe has represented Australia in eight Tests where he has 33 scalps at an average of 27.30. The 32-year-old spinner has also played seven T20Is, with his last appearance in the shortest format of the game coming way back almost six years ago against South Africa in 2011.