Stokes could have killed me, says a defendant
Ben Stokes, the star English all-rounder currently undergoing the judicial trial on affray, has claimed that he decided to step in the scuffle to defend the gay couple before the street fight broke off.
Prior to this, the jury at Bristol Crown Court was told that Stokes attacked Ryan Hale and Ryan Ali and consequently flattened them out during the brawl.
However, speaking in his defense and refusing affray, Stokes that he stepped in the matter when he heard the pair of Ali and Hale shouting homophobic slurs at a gay couple, who have been named as William O'Connor and Kai Barry.
According to Cricbuzz, Stokes was reported as saying: "I stepped in and said 'you shouldn't be saying these things to these two men'." He also denied acting like this due to being homophobic himself.
Stokes went on to tell the court that his attacks on Hale and Ali were triggered in a form of self-defense as Ali had threatened to assault him with a bottle. He claimed that he not only wanted to defend himself but also protect the two gay men around him.
"I took the decision for what I did very quickly. As soon as this episode started I knew not just myself but other people could be a target of these two men." The 27-year-old added. "As soon as I decided to get involved, everything I did was under self-defence. I did what I could to keep myself and those around me safe."
Earlier today, Ryan Hale was acquitted by the court and in an interview later, he said that Stokes could have taken his life the way he lunged at him. " ... He could have killed me. I don't know why he didn't stop," added Hale.
The court trial is still under proceedings and no judgments and predictions can be drawn but given the surfacing video footage and the remarks being given, the Englishmen might have landed himself in deep trouble.