The prospect of Ched Evans signing for Oldham Athletic has now disappeared, but while the deal seemed to be on I came across this rather depressing article on the BBC web site in which a number of football 'insiders' give their mixed and often ill-informed thoughts on the whole affair.
So to balance things up I thought I'd share an excellent article by Lucy Hunter Johnson in The Independent which in my view wipes the floor with her line up of all male commentators form the BBC.
Ched Evans: Oldham hoping to complete deal for convicted rapist
Oldham Athletic are hoping to complete the signing of convicted rapist Ched Evans on Thursday.
Terms with the Welsh striker, 26, have been agreed and the deal is close to being finalised despite a backlash, including a 60,000-strong petition.
However, there are still legal issues to overcome which could cause a delay.
A board member told the BBC they were "minded" to sign Evans but said the Professional Footballers' Association was a key driver in the move.
Owner Simon Corney said on Wednesday that the club, who are 14th in League One, were 80% likely to sign the striker.
The former Manchester City and Sheffield United player was jailed in April 2012 for raping a woman and was released from prison in October after serving half of a five-year sentence.
What about the impact of Evans's deal on the victim?
Guardian sports writer David Conn: "There's been no decency shown to her after the event. You can still say 'I maintain my innocence of the crime, while apologising for what I did which I don't dispute,' and show some decency and empathy for this woman.
"When I saw that Evans' supporters' website, and understood the way the victim has continued to be treated, that was a tipping point for me to make me feel that he has not done enough to show himself as someone who should have that second chance. I don't think he's ready yet."
Will the dressing room accept him?
Former England international Danny Mills: "The dressing room is unlike any other place on the planet. Rightly, or wrongly, morally right or morally wrong, the dressing room is a sanctum of protection. Things will be said. There might be press cuttings quite possibly put on his locker, or where he gets changed."
"Trouble is with football, it becomes very, very selfish at times and if Ched Evans goes into that dressing room and starts to play good football and starts to score the odd goal then, rightly or wrongly, whatever you think should happen, those players will forget about everything off the pitch if he's doing the business on the pitch."
Guy Mowbray, BBC commentator: "What does it do to members of the squad who think, 'If you're that desperate to get that sort of player in, with everything that it brings, then thanks very much. You can't rate me very highly can you?'."
How will fans react?
Former Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips: "The interesting thing for me is that Oldham are struggling, they need a centre forward, and it'll be quite interesting to see how the supporters react when he scores his first goal.
"I'm pretty sure there's going to be many in that crowd saying they won't turn up, but I'm sure they will at some point, and it'll be interesting to see whether they celebrate if he scores a goal.
"It's quite unique being on that football pitch because you put everything to the back of your mind. If he scores a goal, I'm pretty sure the players at that time will celebrate. They need a goalscorer."
Does he deserve a second chance?
Mills: "To play devil's advocate for a moment, he's committed a crime, he's served his sentence in prison - supposedly - therefore he should have been rehabilitated, therefore he comes back into it. Should he not be allowed to do his job of work?
Conn: "You have the right to work in theory, but you don't have a right to walk back into your chosen profession. No employer, no football club has a duty to employ him."
Chief sports writer for the Daily Mirror, Oliver Holt: "The last thing I want to be is to be seen as some sort of champion of Ched Evans... but I believe in a society where once criminals have served their sentence they deserve the chance to rehabilitate.
"I just think we're on dangerous ground when we start making slightly random judgements about which criminals we allow back to work, and which criminals we don't."
Will the signing work out?
Mowbray: "I am very, very surprised that they're going down this route. With everything that's gone before it, I can't believe that they're that desperate that they would take this signing with all the baggage and the problems that will come with it.
"There are financial implications, with sponsorship deals being lost, there might even be implications with policing costs, with the extra security needed.
"I struggle to see it really ending positively for the club, or indeed the player, because if they're going to all this trouble, there's immense pressure on him as well."
'Ched Evans has served his time' - and other common misconceptions about the convicted rapist footballer
A handy rebuttal guide
How nice it would have been if the whole sorry saga of Ched Evans had been left in 2014. Unfortunately, Oldham Athletic are the latest team to suggest that they are considering signing the convicted rapist to play for their side, here on the other side of December 31st. If you - like me – think this is a truly terrible, awful decision, then you will be used to hearing the same arguments put forward in his defence, so here is a handy rebuttal guide.\
Ched has served his time
Well actually, he hasn’t. Evans has been released under licence, but his sentence isn’t finished yet, it’s only the custodial aspect that is over. He could return to prison at any time if he breaches his probation conditions. He’s not allowed to go abroad, for example. He is far from being a ‘free man’.
He didn’t even do it!
A jury disagreed. The facts remain that on 30 May 2011, Evans got a text from his friend, Clayton McDonald, to say that he had “got a bird”, neglecting to mention he had “got” her at 3am in the queue for pizza when she was so drunk that she fell over and twisted her ankle. In fact, she had drunk so much that she doesn’t remember how she got to the hotel room where she eventually woke up, her clothes scattered around the floor. But this isn’t about her actions: it’s about Evans. And he does remember. He remembers – and freely admits - that he got a taxi to the Premier Inn where McDonald had taken the 19 year-old, let himself into the room and watched his friend have sex with her. He then “got involved”, while his brother and another friend watched through a window and tried to film it on their phones. Evans left later that morning via a fire escape.
Evans doesn’t think this sequence of events makes him a rapist. But unfortunately for him the jury did, and it is from that foundation that all our conversations about Evans and his professional career should start. The Football Association are not able to overturn or ignore the decisions of our legal system. Should the decision be overturned in court, then it's a discussion that can be reopened.
He has been punished, so now he should be rehabilitated
We need to be very clear what we mean by rehabilitation. Because rehabilitation does not mean a return to ordinary life, as if nothing has happened. Rehabilitation for Evans is not analogous with playing professional football. He could be rehabilitated without ever touching a ball again.
Rehabilitation is about reintegration into society, with the fundamental basis of this a reasonable understanding that the individual will not reoffend. And this is where we run into some problems, because Evans does not accept that he did anything wrong. In fact, he has repeatedly refused to accept even a modicum of guilt for anything other than cheating on his girlfriend. If he does not understand that what he did was rape, can we be sure he will not reoffend? He has shown no grasp of the issues surrounding consent, so can we really say he is rehabilitated?
But saying sorry isn’t part of his punishment
No, but acceptance and a willingness to change is part of rehabilitation, which is surely the issue at question here.
So are we saying that his life is ruined because of one mistake?
Are we really suggesting that simply not being able to play professional football will destroy his life? The woman he attacked has just had to move and change her identity for the fifth time, after his supporters tracked her down and abused her. They even have a website vilifying her. Evans has yet to condemn their actions. Perhaps when talking about lives that have been ruined, we should first talk about his victim, and learn from his response to her ruined life.
Is he never allowed to work again?
Of course he is! But a rape conviction automatically excludes you from a vast number of professions. A convicted rapist couldn’t be a teacher, doctor or police officer, for example. In fact, there can be few companies that would allow you to walk straight back into your job after leaving jail. Should football be so different?
But a footballer isn’t in charge of children or vulnerable people, he is not a threat. Why shouldn’t he be allowed to play?
Not a threat directly, no, but footballers are idolised, and – rightly or wrongly – presented as role models. Regardless of how he has acted since his release, allowing him to walk back on to a pitch to cheers makes a mockery of what he has done. Do we really want his face decorating the bedroom walls of young fans?
Other sports stars have committed crimes in the past and been allowed to return. Why not Evans?
A wrong decision in the past shouldn’t stop the right thing being done now. This case should be judged on its own merits. And it is clear that public opinion now is overwhelmingly against Evans being allowed to return to professional football, with a petition to Oldham Athletic against the signing gaining 24,000 signatures so far, making it one of the fastest growing ever.
Perhaps it’s because he has shown no remorse, or because he has taken no responsibility for the despicable actions of his fans, or maybe it's because he is so unwilling to learn from what he has done. But it could also be that public opinion is finally starting to recognise rape as the most appalling of crimes which deserves to be met with nothing but disgust and contempt for the rapist, rather than a new contract and football shirt.
