The fallout from the ball-tampering scandal keeps on coming and the executions have been swift – is there even the slightest chance Australia has taken this just a little bit too far?
Is #MeToo the new -gate? As you know, the final syllable of Watergate has long conferred instant gravitas on any scandal, from major political skulduggery to the suspected theft of a yoghurt from your office fridge. The -gate suffix automatically invests whatever it is with all the epochal, slightly impenetrable drama of a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters, and the ensuing presidential cover-up thereof. Inevitably, then, the business of Australia cheating in the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town was instantly branded Tampergate by many (despite Tampergate itself having had a previous run-out in the storied history of New England Patriots scandals).
But perhaps the changes are finally being rung, because I have since read that this is “cricket’s #MeToo moment”. If this means that a load of pundits are going to spout thundering condemnation of the crime, even though many of them have sinned in similar ways, then I guess the comparison is pretty spot‑on.
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