BSA clears Scotty Stevenson over ‘deleting tins’ cricket drinking joke

Joseph Brownlee Smith, who made the complaint, argued the broadcast promoted irresponsible drinking and brought the cricket club into disrepute.

He also said New Zealand is impacted by a binge-drinking culture and state broadcaster TVNZ had a responsibility to not endorse this behaviour, particularly to younger viewers.

The BSA found the televised segment did amount to the “advocacy of alcohol consumption”, but it was considered socially responsible in the context of a live sports broadcast.

It also said the broadcast was aimed mainly at an adult audience, with viewers aged from 5 to 17 making up less than 2% of the audience according to ratings data.

“We do not consider their comments, which were light-hearted and appeared intended as humorous, amounted to genuine advocacy of excessive alcohol consumption,” the BSA said in their decision.

The watchdog said co-commentator Mark Richardson also made a counterpoint to Stevenson’s comments by disapproving of “all-nighters” and cheering a team member who had gone to work instead of attending the match.

Other complaints around privacy and balance were rejected, with the BSA finding the team’s activities did not constitute a “controversial issue of public importance” and no private information was disclosed about the cricketer mentioned during the broadcast.

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