English Cricketer Ben Stokes Opens Up About 2017 Arrest After Defending Gay Couple From Homophobes

English cricketer Ben Stokes was arrested in 2017 after punching two men in a street brawl outside a nightclub in Bristol. 

In a new documentary Ben Stokes: Phoenix From The Ashes, the 31-year-old captain of the England Test team, has finally opened up about what happened that night. The brawl led to him being prosecuted and charged with affray. 

Trigger Warning: This story discusses the use of a homophobic slur, which might be distressing to some readers. For 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.

During the trial in 2018, Stokes had claimed that he was defending a gay couple from two homophobic men, but the prosecutor alleged that the cricketer was the one who targeting the couple. Stokes was acquitted after the jury heard evidence from the gay couple, who later told the media that the cricketer was a “hero”.

‘They Were Taking The Piss Out of Them For Being Gay’

Stokes tells the documentary filmmakers that it was a regular night out with his teammate Alex Hales. 

“Nothing good happens after midnight… We were looking for a casino to go to. You notice something when two random guys are saying stuff to two other guys, which they shouldn’t be doing,” the cricketer tells the filmmakers. 

“The two lads who were getting the abuse were gay. The two lads who I ended up having an altercation with were taking the piss out of them for being gay,” he explains.

“Seeing red is probably the wrong way to say it. But as soon as a bottle got brought out and he tried to hit one of my friends at the time, Alex, and then one of the guys that we stepped in to help. Then (I saw red).”

The brawl was captured on CCTV cameras and went viral across the world. Stokes was arrested and lost his sponsorship with clothing brand New Balance. 

Gay Couple Say Stokes Was a ‘Hero’

Stokes said he never spoke about the incident, because he “wasn’t allowed to”” and even considered quitting cricket at one point.After he was acquitted, he returned to lead the Test team. 

“Sometimes I say to myself, if I had just let that happen and walked on, I wouldn’t be here, that wouldn’t have happened. But I probably would have never forgiven myself for ever walking past something like that,” he says. 

Kai Barry and William O’Connell, the couple Stokes had defended, had told the media in 2018 that the cricketer should never have faced trial in the first place. 

The couple, who were not called to testify by the prosecution, but spoke to the media later, said that the two men had called them a homophobic slur “batty boys” in the bar. Stokes was seen in the CCTV footage escorting the gay couple out of the bar. 

“We walked around the corner and got followed by two guys, who made a homophobic remark to us. As we turned around to see what was going on, we were pretty much attacked with a bottle,” Barry had told ITV’s Good Morning Britain. 

“It was brilliant what he (Stokes) did, to stick up for two gay men, you don’t get many people like that,” O’Connell had said.