TVNZ says Scotty Stevenson’s ‘sexualised slur’ about schoolboys in cricket commentary ‘falls short’

Thursday, 4 December 2025

TVNZ says commentator Scotty Stevenson missed the mark with a “sexualised slur” about Christchurch school boys.

During TVNZ’s cricket commentary on Wednesday, Stevenson called boys from Christ’s College “syrup suckers”.

The school’s headmaster Joe Eccleton has said in a letter to parents and caregivers that as a school committed to the wellbeing, dignity and personal development of every boy in its care “we found this comment totally unacceptable”.

“It is a sexualised slur directed towards minors, and such language has no place in any public forum, least of all a national broadcast.

“Our boys do not deserve to be targeted by ridicule or inappropriate commentary.”

Eccleton said he had submitted a complaint to the Broadcasting Standards Authority on behalf of the college outlining its concerns and requesting the matter be fully investigated.

“We have made it clear that we expect a higher standard of professionalism from public commentators, and that Mr Stevenson’s remarks fell well short of those expectations.

“We have worked hard as a community to build a culture where respect, positive discourse, and care for one another are at the forefront of our daily practices. For an adult in a position of influence to undermine these values is deeply disappointing.”

A TVNZ spokesperson said cricket was a “live, unscripted broadcast environment”.

“With that comes a risk that our commentary team could make a comment that misses the mark or falls short of the standards our audience expects of us, that’s what’s happened here.”

“We take complaints raised seriously. Our team have been busy delivering the first three days of the test. We’ll be catching up with them and taking the appropriate next steps to address this.”

The commentary

The comment was made during The Blacks Caps versus West Indies cricket test in Christchurch, as the camera panned away from the oval to an adjacent field where schoolboys were practising.

“A bit of catching practice for the syrup suckers, the Christ’s College boys,” Stevenson said.

After Stevenson’s comment, Mark Richardson asked him to explain.

“I didn’t come up with a term,” Stevenson said. “It’s just what others call them.

“It’s howls of disapproval from the public school kids in the back of the commentary box. That’s why you end up working for them.”

Then Richardson said, “so for those who don't know that ground there, that's the Christ College cricket ground”.

“It's a little bit away from Christ’s College, which is on the far end of of Hagley Park, just on the other side of the road. Beautiful little pavilion they've got.”

He continued, “we're just assuming that's Christ’s College lads”.

Stevenson responded saying “now we know for certain because they tried to take down our drone.”

“That’s the kind of behaviour one would expect from that mob,” he said.

Stevenson later shared a screenshot of Stuff’s initial article, which called the interaction awkward, with a comment saying “didn’t make me feel awkward.”