Melbourne Stars all-rounder Marcus Stoinis was left “distraught” in the immediate aftermath of Saturday night’s BBL derby against the Melbourne Renegades.
The 30-year-old was fined $7,500 for a homophobic slur directed at Kane Richardson during the match, with Stoinis expressing immediate remorse afterwards.
Stars coach David Hussey said on-field banter is “good for the game”, as long as it doesn’t go too far.
“I don’t really know all the ins and out of (the incident),” he told SEN Summer Breakfast.
“All I know is Marcus is really apologetic, he was actually distraught after the game. He’s spoken to Kane (Richardson) and it’s been done with now and we can hopefully move on.
“There’s two alpha males going at it and trying to win for their respective teams, I thought it was good for the game, yet (the banter) probably went a little bit too far.
“It’s been going on for probably a good four or five seasons now.”
Speaking on SEN Test Cricket, former Australian opener Simon Katich urged Cricket Australia to look at other methods of punishment for similar remarks beyond just a monitory sanction.
“I’m not sure a financial punishment is the right way of going about it given we’ve had a few instances of this throughout the summer,” he said.
“James Pattinson obviously had a prior record and he got suspended (last year for a similar slur) – I think it’s something they’re pretty keen to stamp out and I don’t think a financial penalty in this day and age (is good enough).”
You can listen to David Hussey's full chat on SEN Summer Breakfast in the player below.