OPINION: This one's been bugging me.
How on earth did England's most important and influential player *allegedly* find himself throwing haymakers outside a Bristol nightclub at 2:30am?
The leaked video which *allegedly* features Ben Stokes attacking two men is absolutely horrendous. There is no way to possibly defend the actions of the person in the green T-shirt. He will have to take responsibility for them, and whatever punishment comes his way, if it's found he's at fault once the police investigation is complete.
If it turns out to be Stokes, there's a lot more than just his involvement in this summer's Ashes series riding on the outcome.
"They are adults and they have to take responsibility. They are professionals," said England coach Trevor Bayliss of the now-suspended Stokes and Alex Hales, who was with his teammate when the incident took place.
Here's the thing. When it comes to sport, being an adult does not make you a professional. Being a professional does not make you an adult, either.
High-profile international sportpeople lead a simplified life to allow them to focus on performance. They barely have to think for themselves in the team environment, with almost every aspect of their life in camp taken care of by someone else. They're fed and watered, told where to be and when, driven here and there and protected from the public. The great irony is that is seems there was no one to look after Stokes when he was at his most vulnerable.
And you really have to ask yourself whether the England Cricket Board and team management need to accept some of the responsibility for what happened.
How on earth did he find himself in this situation? Where was the support? Stokes has form with this stuff. He's knows how to find trouble, and trouble certainly knows how to find him.
It wasn't as though Stokes went rogue on a random evening during the off season - he was out on the town with a teammate after representing his country in a one-day international.
Stokes is considered vital to England's hopes of retaining the Ashes this summer. Much of the commentary in the wake of this incident suggests England have little hope of winning without him. If he's so important, why wasn't more done to protect their prized asset?
Yes, Ben Stokes should be old enough to look after himself. But when players are treated like teenagers, some will continue to behave like one. They'll struggle to shake old habits and conform to the expectations placed upon them when they're catapulted into the limelight. The fact is that Stokes' profile makes him a target.
It's all very well to expect more of players in these situations - that they will do the right thing as a professional. But when both player and management know of the potential risk, surely it's in everyone's interest to go the extra mile to ensure situations like the one in Bristol are avoided. No matter who proved the agitator in this incident, you can't help but feel that the outcome could have been prevented if a sober member of team security had been on hand to pull the handbrake when things got out of control.
We live in an age where social media and modern technology make it impossible for these incidents to go under the radar as they once did. Given the value of these high-profile players to their teams, it might pay to reassess who takes responsibility and who needs to be professional when the last ball's bowled and the post-match begins.
Andrew Gourdie is a Newshub reporter/presenter, and host of Sunday Sport on Radio LIVE from 2pm
