Ched Evans to train with SUFC

[Snook 10]

I have three contrasting opinions...

 

1) I'm a Sheffield United supporter and want to get promotion, so I'd love us to have a 30 goal a season striker. I think this is the thing that motivates most fans.

 

2) I believe that if you have served your sentence you should be allowed back into society and should be able to be a constructive part of it.

 

3) I don't want a convicted rapist playing for my football club, especially one who is not repentant. I think this one out-weighs the other two for me.

 

I suppose nobody will know the truth about what happened apart from the people who were there, but I do believe that he did rape her as she was too drunk to give consent. And yes, that is rape and it's just as bad as any other rape and shouldn't be dismissed.

 

If he had admitted that and been repentant I would have felt more likely to want him back at the club.

[Antone 10]

I have divided opinions on this.

 

Evans argues that he was given consent. But in the eyes of the law there was question mark over whether the girl in question was in a fit state of mind to give consent.

 

For this, 12 members of the public agreed the girl wasn't fit to make the judgement after reviewing all the evidence.

 

Evans is yet to offer any explanation of how this is wrong. All he says is that he had consent. Which a jury disagreed with.

 

The presence of the other chap in question is irrelevant - she willingly went to the hotel room with him. She did not with Evans.

 

Paul Blomfield recognises Evans's major failing here. He had sex with a woman who in the eyes of the law did not enter that room to have sex with Evans, did not expect Evans to show up, and was in no fit state to agree to having sex with Evans when he did show up. He took advantage of a vulnerable woman with an immoral and despicable act. Yet Evans recognises this only as an 'act of infidelity' and believes the only victim is his girlfriend.

 

While I am firmly of the opinion that all convicted criminals should be allowed to freely carry on with their lives after they have served their time (with the exception of those that are potentially a threat to minors and vulnerable people), there has to be some recognition of the crime committed, and some remorse shown.

 

Evans shows no remorse; his attitude to the case and his apology aimed primarily at his girlfriend shows he still has no regret for his actions and the consequences they have had on the victim.

 

If he feels so strongly that he is innocent, and that he has a case for appealing and overturning his conviction (which he has tried once and failed on) then he should take a step back from the public eye until his name is cleared. If his name is cleared then debate over.

 

If he can't clear his name, then he should accept what 12 of his peers have concluded: he is guilty, and is a rapist. He should stop stamping his feet and demanding they change their minds just because he doesn't like it. He should do the right thing. He should show humility and compassion. He should apologise to his victim.

 

Until he does that, then anyone who employs him, associates with him, or champions his cause should hang their heads in shame.

Good post!

 

---------- Post added 12-11-2014 at 14:29 ----------

 

I have three contrasting opinions...

 

1) I'm a Sheffield United supporter and want to get promotion, so I'd love us to have a 30 goal a season striker. I think this is the thing that motivates most fans.

 

2) I believe that if you have served your sentence you should be allowed back into society and should be able to be a constructive part of it.

 

3) I don't want a convicted rapist playing for my football club, especially one who is not repentant. I think this one out-weighs the other two for me.

 

I suppose nobody will know the truth about what happened apart from the people who were there, but I do believe that he did rape her as she was too drunk to give consent. And yes, that is rape and it's just as bad as any other rape and shouldn't be dismissed.

 

If he had admitted that and been repentant I would have felt more likely to want him back at the club.

Another good post!

 

A big part of going to the Blades is going with my 7 year old boy. I don't want to have to explain this to him and I don't want him to see an un-repentant convicted rapist playing for us.

 

From a PR point of view this should all be a no-brainer. Let him rebuild his career elsewhere.

[Olive 10]

Why would United bring all this adverse publicity upon themselves.and split the fan base especially considering you now have money behind you.....you could go and buy/loan a centre forward who is better than what Evans is/was ...?

 

This is the crux of the matter for me.

 

Whilst I do believe that a criminal should be able to serve their time and get on with their life, from an employer's point of view, it seems like a toxic situation that most employers would want to distance themselves from.

 

He was playing for Utd when the whole sordid episode took place. He dragged their name through the mud at the time and the same thing is happening now. It's dividing the fans, god knows what it would do to the team if he is signed back up. Will there be protests at the ground? How will fans feel cheering him on?

[sheff71 10]

Nigel's in no hurry to get him signed up, according to the Guardian...

 

'The Sheffield United manager Nigel Clough has insisted that allowing the convicted rapist Ched Evans back to train with the club was not a precursor to offering him a deal.

 

Asked on Sky Sports News whether allowing Evans to train at the club would lead to a potential contract at Bramall Lane, Clough added: “That’s a long way from being true.”

 

United had released a statement on Tuesday in which they neither confirmed nor denied they were willing to re-sign Evans, saying: “While some have speculated about whether the club will or should invite Mr Evans to return to SUFC as a registered footballer, the club is not prepared at this time to decide that issue.”

 

Clough insisted: “The statement said that he is purely down to train with us and we will take it from there.”

 

In a further interview with BBC Radio Sheffield, Clough said there was no timescale on whether a decision would be made to offer Evans a deal.

 

“It’s nowhere near being decided, as it said in the statement,” he added. “It goes in stages. How you can sign a player who hasn’t played for two years and seven months? I don’t think anyone is in a position to do that.

 

“We don’t have a timescale on it, believe it or not it’s not at the top of our priorities. We have four games in 10 days, two in the cup and two in the league, which will determine whether we are going to stay in those competitions and get back into the top six.

 

“That is our priority. Not a player who is training with us at the moment. I have no idea on the plan for him. The statement was just released yesterday, the next stage is sorting out some sort of training programme.” '

[wendelspans 21]

I wonder how his team mates (at wherever he ends up) and opposition players will take to him ?

[rossyrooney 12]

Nigel's in no hurry to get him signed up, according to the Guardian...

 

'The Sheffield United manager Nigel Clough has insisted that allowing the convicted rapist Ched Evans back to train with the club was not a precursor to offering him a deal.

 

Asked on Sky Sports News whether allowing Evans to train at the club would lead to a potential contract at Bramall Lane, Clough added: “That’s a long way from being true.”

 

United had released a statement on Tuesday in which they neither confirmed nor denied they were willing to re-sign Evans, saying: “While some have speculated about whether the club will or should invite Mr Evans to return to SUFC as a registered footballer, the club is not prepared at this time to decide that issue.”

 

Clough insisted: “The statement said that he is purely down to train with us and we will take it from there.”

 

In a further interview with BBC Radio Sheffield, Clough said there was no timescale on whether a decision would be made to offer Evans a deal.

 

“It’s nowhere near being decided, as it said in the statement,” he added. “It goes in stages. How you can sign a player who hasn’t played for two years and seven months? I don’t think anyone is in a position to do that.

 

“We don’t have a timescale on it, believe it or not it’s not at the top of our priorities. We have four games in 10 days, two in the cup and two in the league, which will determine whether we are going to stay in those competitions and get back into the top six.

 

“That is our priority. Not a player who is training with us at the moment. I have no idea on the plan for him. The statement was just released yesterday, the next stage is sorting out some sort of training programme.” '

 

But by simply commenting on the subject shows that Clough is not focussed 100% on team matters, if this is indicative of the players too (especially if they go behind) this fiasco could be doubly harmful to the club, I am expecting the opposition fans to be extremely vocal in forthcoming games.

[sharrovian 10]

Hopefully he will be allowed to get on with his life, this has gone on long enough. We all have our opinions but it is time to shut up and for the persecution, YES persecution to cease.

[Eater Sundae 12]

Good post!

 

---------- Post added 12-11-2014 at 14:29 ----------

 

Another good post!

 

A big part of going to the Blades is going with my 7 year old boy. I don't want to have to explain this to him and I don't want him to see an un-repentant convicted rapist playing for us.

From a PR point of view this should all be a no-brainer. Let him rebuild his career elsewhere.

 

Re bib. On the contrary I think it is a good opportunity to explain things to children. The language used would need to be appropriate to the child's level of understanding.

 

Along the lines of...

 

"He has committed a serious crime. He was caught and has been punished"

"Some (opposition) supporters are chanting nasty things about him because of his crimes"

"Some of our supporters are reveling in what he has done - I think that is wrong, and I don't want you to join in"

"I think that we (the Blades) shouldn't have given him a contract, but we don't always get what we want in life. Some people put money in front of doing the right thing. I think SU are wrong to do that, in this case. But remember, most of what they do is good, so we can still support them. Its just that they got this issue wrong."

"I don't want to support him, and I don't think you should, either, as it looks like we think what he has done is OK, which it isn't"

"We can still support our team, but concentrate on the other players and the team as a whole"

 

BTW, I agree that SU should let him get work elsewhere. (Having said that, I see nothing wrong with letting him train at United in the meantime, just to get his fitness back - I think it's good to show him some kindness).

[Gazza58 10]

Another one bites the dust.

"A patron of Sheffield United football club, Charlie Webster, has told the BBC she's resigned over the club's decision to allow the convicted rapist, Ched Evans, to train with the squad."

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-30015434

 

Two more patrons have also resigned,dave berry [60s singer] and lyndsay graham [who].

[medusa 16]

Hopefully he will be allowed to get on with his life, this has gone on long enough. We all have our opinions but it is time to shut up and for the persecution, YES persecution to cease.

 

What about the persecution of his victim? That's still going on so why does he get a free pass on that?

[Zamo 10]

I have divided opinions on this.

 

Evans argues that he was given consent. But in the eyes of the law there was question mark over whether the girl in question was in a fit state of mind to give consent.

 

For this, 12 members of the public agreed the girl wasn't fit to make the judgement after reviewing all the evidence.

 

Evans is yet to offer any explanation of how this is wrong. All he says is that he had consent. Which a jury disagreed with.

 

The presence of the other chap in question is irrelevant - she willingly went to the hotel room with him. She did not with Evans.

 

Paul Blomfield recognises Evans's major failing here. He had sex with a woman who in the eyes of the law did not enter that room to have sex with Evans, did not expect Evans to show up, and was in no fit state to agree to having sex with Evans when he did show up. He took advantage of a vulnerable woman with an immoral and despicable act. Yet Evans recognises this only as an 'act of infidelity' and believes the only victim is his girlfriend.

 

While I am firmly of the opinion that all convicted criminals should be allowed to freely carry on with their lives after they have served their time (with the exception of those that are potentially a threat to minors and vulnerable people), there has to be some recognition of the crime committed, and some remorse shown.

 

Evans shows no remorse; his attitude to the case and his apology aimed primarily at his girlfriend shows he still has no regret for his actions and the consequences they have had on the victim.

 

If he feels so strongly that he is innocent, and that he has a case for appealing and overturning his conviction (which he has tried once and failed on) then he should take a step back from the public eye until his name is cleared. If his name is cleared then debate over.

 

If he can't clear his name, then he should accept what 12 of his peers have concluded: he is guilty, and is a rapist. He should stop stamping his feet and demanding they change their minds just because he doesn't like it. He should do the right thing. He should show humility and compassion. He should apologise to his victim.

 

Until he does that, then anyone who employs him, associates with him, or champions his cause should hang their heads in shame.

 

Great summary. I would add that the jury also saw the video evidence found on the brother's phone which none of the apologist have seen. We need to trust that it was pretty damning.

[barnie41 29]

Good post!

 

---------- Post added 12-11-2014 at 14:29 ----------

 

Another good post!

 

A big part of going to the Blades is going with my 7 year old boy. I don't want to have to explain this to him and I don't want him to see an un-repentant convicted rapist playing for us.

 

From a PR point of view this should all be a no-brainer. Let him rebuild his career elsewhere.

 

I put on another forum. A mate's 8 year old lad recently 'Dad, you know Ched Evans......'Yes'..........What's rape mean?'

 

I am against him being back in at United - training or playing until this is all sorted out. For me, that one question from that youngster is a damn good reason he shouldn't be anywhere near us unless and until he is cleared - if indeed he is.