Michael Slater has been removed from the Cricket NSW Hall of Fame. Photo: Michael Slater/Twitter.
Wagga-born former Australian cricketer Michael Slater has been removed from the Cricket NSW Hall of Fame and his life membership has been revoked.
The fallen star was sentenced to four years in prison in April after pleading guilty to domestic violence charges, but was released from custody on a suspended sentence.
Cricket NSW made the decision to remove the 55-year-old’s life membership and Hall of Fame status on Monday (1 December), during an ordinary general meeting, which saw a written submission from Slater opposing his removal.
Mr Slater’s removal from the Cricket NSW Hall of Fame follows Wagga Wagga City Council’s decision to remove his name from an oval at Bolton Park in 2024.
Following Wagga Wagga City Council’s vote, the signage of the former Michael Slater Oval was graffitied, with the name covered for several months. The sign was removed earlier this year. However, more than 18 months later, the ground has not been renamed.
Despite Mr Slater’s name being removed from the Cricket NSW Hall of Fame and Bolton Park, he remains an inductee at the Wagga Wagga Sporting Hall of Fame at the Museum of the Riverina.
Wagga councillor Amelia Parkins has long opposed Mr Slater having any form of sporting recognition in Wagga Wagga and said she wouldn’t be surprised if council had further discussions to remove Mr Slater from the Wagga Wagga Sporting Hall of Fame.
“I’ve always said that you can’t separate the person from their fame,” Ms Parkins said.
“That’s the challenge of being a high-profile figure, whether it’s sport or politics or anything else – you are a role model for people in the community, and even more so as a sports star.
“I’m pleased to hear that they’ve [Cricket NSW] done it. I think Wagga has been pretty clear in our position that we won’t be looking at removing him from the Hall of Fame, but I suspect that this will trigger another conversation amongst councillors and the executives around what is an appropriate measure moving forward.”
Fellow councillor Richard Foley said while he believed the decision to rename Michael Slater Oval was now appropriate following Mr Slater’s sentencing, he did not believe he should be removed from either the Cricket NSW Hall of Fame or the Wagga Wagga Sporting Hall of Fame.
“I don’t think it serves any purpose to try and erase history,” Mr Foley said.
“His sporting achievements are separate from his matters of conviction, and I think it is a bridge too far for them to remove someone’s sporting achievements.
“We need to hope that the guy gets on the straight and narrow and gets himself together. I mean, I don’t think the ongoing pile-on is going to assist an offender in correcting themselves.
“This is ridiculous, and it has been politicised.
“I think just sitting there and saying, ‘Well, you’re going to get punished, and forever punished, and we’re going to remove your historical achievements as a sportsman,’ in the case of Slater here, serves no purpose in trying to heal anything.”
Slater was raised in Wagga and attended the former Wagga Wagga Agricultural College.
He moved to Sydney in his late teenage years before representing Australia in more than 100 international matches, scoring more than 5000 runs, including 14 centuries.
Original Article published by Jarryd Rowley on Region Riverina.
