Ben Stokes, the cricket player who has been investigated for a late-night brawl 11 months ago in which he broke the eye socket of one man, has been acquitted by a jury.
Stokes claimed that he innocently came upon two gay men being attacked by a couple other men at 2 a.m., so Stokes beat up the two alleged attackers out of self defense.
According to The Guardian, Stokes also “told the jury he had had three to four beers, six vodka and lemonades and ‘a few Jägerbombs.’” And he said he wasn’t drunk. Ooooookay. He also said he was protecting the gay couple from abuse, but he said he couldn’t remember what that abuse was. Stokes was also accused of mocking the two gay men before launching an attack on two other men who may have been mocking the gay men.
All very peculiar circumstances.
Either way, the gay Bristol couple Stokes allegedly defended, William O’Connor and Kai Barry, were effusive with their praise for Stokes.
“When I realized who he was, I thought, fair play,” Barry said on Tuesday, according to The Guardian. “He’s obviously put his career at risk for someone that he never knew. Thank you for being there. Sorry about all the drama we landed you in, but a lot of appreciation.”
For whatever reason, they weren’t called as witnesses in the trial. Ooooookay.
I’m not sure his thoughts were that deep after 10 cocktails and some Jägerbombs, but either way Stokes is cleared of wrongdoing.
