A new mum claims she was told to 'cover up' while breastfeeding at a cricket match to avoid 'embarrassing' everyone.
Leah Wong, 32, says the incident happened while she was watching her partner play a match at Flowery Field Cricket Club in Hyde, Greater Manchester, back in April.
While sitting on a bench outside the club changing rooms, Leah began breastfeeding her 16-week-old son Tristan Wong, who had started to get restless.
It was at this point that a club member allegedly marched over, telling her that she was "embarrassing" everyone.
Leah, from Stalybridge, Greater Manchester, said: "I was sitting on a bench outside the changing rooms - there were benches all the way around.
"When I started [breastfeeding] the game was on so there were people on the pitch and people sitting behind me but no one walking past.
"Then the game ended so the players went past to go into the changing room. The woman approached me. She is someone my partner has known his whole life and I've known her for a few years now, so I just expected a pleasant conversation.
"She said she said this 'as someone who used to be a midwife'. She started out by saying, 'Do you think what you're doing is appropriate?' I said, 'Yes I did'."
The mum-of-one continued: "She said 'it's not appropriate, it's embarrassing for everyone else - it's not appropriate around the male players'.
"She made reference to my nipples and my breasts and said people had been discussing it. She suggested I go somewhere more discreet. I said it was completely natural and I wasn't doing anything wrong.
"She then said 'will you at least cover up?' I said no. I was really, really upset. It was so hard coming from someone I knew and someone who used the power of being a midwife - using that to reinforce what she was saying.
"Then it just made me angry because it shouldn't have happened. When I told my partner about it he was really angry, and I think he was hurt that this was someone he considered a good friend."
The PR manager submitted a complaint, and, on May 30, was summoned to a meeting where she claims she was told the member in question hadn't acted in a discriminatory way toward her, as she hadn't actually been asked to leave the premises, and had only been asked to move.
This member has also allegedly refused to apologise for upsetting Leah, despite having been apparently asked to do so by the cricket club.
Leah claimed: "They said her comments weren't the sentiments of the club and that they'd tried to do what was fair and appropriate given the circumstances.
"They'd asked her to apologise and she's refused but they said the club has no control over its members. They also said she didn't ask me to leave the site only to move elsewhere so it wasn't discrimination."
Although Leah still feels confident when breastfeeding in public, she says she won't be returning to the cricket club again.
She explained: "I've breastfed at other clubs and had no problems at all but given the repeated comments from different people, even in these formal meetings, it really shows it's not accepted.
"I think it's really inappropriate to sexualise something like feeding a child. It's quite simple, if you don't like something don't look. It really doesn't need to be a big issue.
"I've had more positive experiences than negative ones, but we also need to show that it's legal to breastfeed in public and most venues are perfectly happy with it. I'm not going to go back to the club to watch cricket again."
A Flowery Field Cricket Club spokesman said: "We as a club have been in contact with the ECB [England and Wales Cricket Board] and Lancashire Cricket Foundation [LCF] who are investigating accordingly. No comment can be made before the investigation by the ECB comes to a close."
An LFC spokesperson said: "We are investigating the complaint which took place at Flowery Field Cricket Club, as we strive to ensure cricket as a game is inclusive and welcoming to all. No further comment will be made until the investigation has been concluded."
The ECB have confirmed they are supporting the LCF's investigation, as is standard practice.
The Mirror has reached out to Flowery Field Cricket Club and the Lancashire Cricket Foundation for further comment.
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