England cricket all-rounder Ben Stokes has been hailed a “real hero” for stepping in and protecting a gay couple in the incident which threatens his place on the Ashes tour.
The 26-year-old did not travel to Australia with the rest of the England squad yesterday as he waits to learn whether he will face criminal charges over an incident outside a nightclub in Bristol last month.
However, Kai Barry and Billy O’Connell yesterday told the Sun that Stokes had been their white knight by stepping in to stop a group of revelers hurling homophobic abuse at them.
Barry and O’Connell said Stokes bought them drinks when they met him and fellow England teammate Alex Hales in a club that evening.
“We were so grateful to Ben for stepping in to help. He was a real hero,” 20-year-old O’Connell told the newspaper. “Kai feared he could be attacked. If Ben hadn’t intervened it could have been a lot worse for us.”
Barry added things could have got ugly if the England star had not intervened.
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