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Monster in Maroon
Rawle Toney
By Rawle Toney
Kaieteur Sports – There is a monster on the cricket field.
He doesn’t haunt dreams. He walks tall and proud in broad daylight, wearing maroon, representing the West Indies on the global stage.
He’s celebrated, cheered for, idolized. But to the women he has violated, he is not a hero. He is a predator.
This cricketer is Guyanese. And as I write this column, I have heard accounts from no fewer than eleven women, one of them a teenager who allege that they have been sexually assaulted, raped, or subjected to unwanted sexual advances by him.
There is a monster in maroon, and his violence hides behind a ball and a cheering crowd.
Recently, Kaieteur News reported on an incident involving this player just before he departed Guyana.
The allegation was serious and credible. But like so many others, the story began to fade, not because it lacked truth, but because the system wore the survivor down.
Exhausted from recounting her trauma over and over to different ranks within the Guyana Police Force, the alleged victim could no longer bear the burden. During one of the official interviews, while being interrogated by a senior officer, she abruptly ended the session, citing emotional and mental distress.
(AI generated Image)
Yesterday, Kaieteur News learned that this same woman, broken and feeling unheard, became so distraught that she is now in hospital care, and as of press time, remains admitted.
This is the horrifying toll of sexual violence. Survivors are not just left with bruises, they are often left with shame, silence, and isolation.
In Guyana, especially when the accused holds power or fame, alleged victims are treated not as survivors seeking justice, but as problems to be managed. They are asked what they were wearing, why they went out with him, if they were drunk. They are cross-examined before ever seeing a courtroom.
Sexual violence by athletes is not new globally, there have been countless examples. But here in Guyana, there is a disturbing pattern of protecting the predator while punishing the victim.
Since the initial Kaieteur News story broke, my inboxes on all platforms have been flooded with painful, personal accounts, dozens of women describing eerily similar encounters with the same cricketer. Others reached out to share their stories of abuse by different athletes.
They all echoed the same refrain; no one believed me.
But here is what makes their stories harder to ignore, they all provided evidence. Screenshots. Messages. Photos. Voice notes. Dates. Hospital visits. In some cases, they reported the incident immediately. In others, the shame and trauma kept them silent, until now.
This is not about guilt or innocence decided in the court of public opinion. This is about a system that repeatedly fails women.
This is about the need for investigations with integrity, accountability, and support systems that don’t retraumatize survivors.
There is a monster in maroon. He may have the swagger of a star, but he leaves behind devastation. And no matter how many wickets he takes, or how many runs he scores, nothing can erase the damage he has done.
We must confront this monster. Not with silence. Not with excuses. But with courage, justice, and truth.
And to the women who continue to come forward, I hear you. I believe you. You matter.
Pic – Monster in Maroon (AI generated)
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