Ben Stokes hits out at UK daily over publicised tragedy

Ben Stokes on Tuesday slammed the UK daily, 'The Sun' for running a story on his private life, claiming that while he is fine with the media reporting about him because he is under public scrutiny, it is wrong of them to talk about his parents or siblings in the same manner because they were entitled to a private life of their own.

He put out a long statement on his Twitter account, calling what the publication as 'immoral and heartless', and also accused them of not getting the facts of the 'tragedy' right, which only aggravated the issue.

This is the statement he put out:

"Today the Sun has seen fit to publish extremely painful, sensitive and personal details concerning events in the private lives of my family, going back more than 31 years.

It is hard to find words that adequately describe such low and despicable behaviour, disguised as journalism. I cannot conceive of anything immoral, heartless or contemptuous to the feelings and circumstances of my family.

For more than three decades, my family has worked hard to deal with the private trauma inevitably associated with these events and has taken great care to keep private what were deeply personal and traumatic events. On Saturday, the Sun sent a 'reporter' to my parents' home in New Zealand to question them, out of the blue, on this incredibly upsetting topic. If that wasn't bad enough, the Sun think it is acceptable to sensationalise our personal tragedy for their front page.

To use my name as an excuse to shatter the privacy and private lives of - in particular, my parents, is utterly disgusting. I am aware that my public profile brings with it consequences for me that I accept entirely. But I will not allow my public profile to be used as an excuse to invade the rights of my parents, my wife, my children or other family members. They are entitled to a private life of their own. The decision to publish these details has grave and lifelong consequences for my mum in particular.

This is the lowest form of journalism, focussed only on chasing sales with absolutely no regard for the devastation caused to lives as a consequence. It is totally out of order.

The article also contains serious inaccuracies which has compounded the damage caused. We need to take a serious look at how we allow our press to behave.

Despite the fact that this has now been made public, I do please ask all concerned to respect my family's privacy and right to home life."

'The Sun' ran a front-page story talking about a certain tragedy in Ben Stokes' family which occurred before he was born, almost 31 years back.

Ben Stokes has had a terrific summer, first starring in the World Cup for England, playing a pivotal role in helping them win their first title, that too on home soil. He then ended up as England's highest run-scorer with 441 runs in the Ashes, and was adjudged 'Man of the Series' for England. He played one of the best Test innings during the course of the series, scoring 135* in the third Test at Headingley, helping England chase down 358 on the fourth day in the company of Jack Leach.