Gideon Gungeon
Striker
one bright spot in the whole damn city of shame imo mate
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Adam Johnson Trial Verdict
- Thread starter Geronimo
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I searched every post you said about her and there wasn't one I could see that was critical... link?
Deleted User 18963
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THERE are no winners in the sordid fall from grace that sees Adam Johnson awaiting a lengthy custodial sentence following his conviction for serious sexual activity with a child, but amid the rush to apportion blame and guilt, it is worth remembering that there is a very real victim.
A naïve, impressionable 15-year-old has had her life turned upside down because of Johnson’s willingness to use his fame and status to further his predatory sexual ends. She has been abused and unmasked on social media, even though the law is supposed to grant her anonymity, and her victim statement clearly spells out the negative way in which she has been impacted by the events of the last year. Having had the courage to stand in court and help convict the paedophile who preyed on her, it is to be hoped she can move on and put the traumas of the past behind her.
Johnson will never be able to escape his past. An arrogant, selfish figure, who appeared to use sexual activity as a means of bolstering his fragile self-esteem, his life is in tatters. He had it all – fame, fortune, a young family to dote on – but he threw it away.
Even during his case at Bradford Crown Court, as he laughed and joked with those around him in the courtroom, he appeared to be completely unaware of the seriousness of the charges he was facing. “I hope this is finished by Friday – it’s getting a bit boring now,” he was overheard saying to a friend. Filling in time is something he will have to start getting used to now.
It is impossible to have any sympathy at all for Johnson, and it is dangerous to draw too many wider conclusions from his personal crimes. But it is hard not to feel that at least part of his downfall is due to the culture that pervades in the cash-rich world of professional football.
Young lads, closeted away in state-of-the-art academies from their earliest teenage years, with no concept of how wider society operates. Rich beyond their wildest dreams, with sycophants hanging on their every word, they become accustomed to getting whatever they desire.
Johnson wanted a relationship with a child, and in his warped mindset, there was nothing wrong with him having it. Clearly, there are thousands of footballers who would never have dreamed of taking such a course, but would he have felt so emboldened on that fateful night in his Range Rover if he hadn’t been put on a pedestal for so much of his life?
We will never know the answer to that question, but having backed Johnson throughout the judicial process, perhaps the PFA should now be questioning why one of its members felt able to commit such unpalatable crimes. With money, profile and power comes responsibility.
And what of Sunderland’s responsibility in all of this? As Johnson’s employer during the time of his offences, did one of the North-East’s biggest sporting institutions do enough to ensure they were not being represented by a paedophile?
It is a thorny issue, and opinions are already polarised. On the one hand, some have claimed that Sunderland continued to play Johnson even though they were aware of the nature of his offences, solely because they hoped his performances might help them gain the points they needed to avoid relegation to the Championship. Johnson has played in 20 matches this season, and scored crucial goals against Newcastle and Liverpool.
The counter-argument is that Sunderland were duty bound to stand by someone who was protesting his innocence, and who entered a not guilty plea to all four counts he was charged with at a pre-trial hearing in June. Aware that they could not prejudice the forthcoming legal proceedings, Sunderland decided not to re-impose the initial two-week suspension that was lifted following a discussion with the PFA and receipt of independent legal advice.
Legally, Sunderland have done everything by the book. As their detailed statement, released within minutes of Wednesday’s guilty verdict, explains, they would have sacked Johnson immediately had he not continued to insist he was going to contest the charges, a stance he maintained right up to the start of his Crown Court trial.
Yet there is still an ethical question for Sunderland to answer about their decision to continue playing Johnson, even though their chief executive, Margaret Byrne, had been present at a meeting with the player and his barrister, Orlando Pownall QC, where Johnson admitted kissing his teenage victim. Byrne was also presented with the 832 What’s App messages that proved such a crucial part of the prosecution case.
Sunderland’s statement skirts over this meeting, merely stating that: “Some documents were received relating to the case, which were immediately sent to Mr Pownall for his attention. However, the club was not in a position to make any judgement on the outcome of the case nor on Mr Johnson’s decision to defend all the allegations.”
Given Byrne’s background as a trained lawyer, is that good enough? And given that Johnson was still a multi-million pound asset while the legal process was taking its course, why didn’t Sunderland send a representative to the pre-trial hearing, where more evidence of Johnson’s alleged crimes was revealed?
Sunderland were unquestionably placed in a difficult position because of Johnson’s crimes, and their desire to respect the judicial process is commendable. As things stand though, they have not adequately addressed the accusation, voiced in open court, that they were willing to be represented by a high-profile paedophile who they knew to have sent a series of explicit messages to a 15-year-old fan.
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That has damaged Sunderland’s reputation immensely, but the club can claim to have been badly let down by someone they went out of their way to promote and protect.
All of which brings us back to Johnson, and the core of the case. For all the peripheral debates, the brutal reality is that Johnson alone took the decision to prey on a star-struck supporter in order to satisfy his sexual urges. He decided to make contact on social media, he decided to initiate the seedy meeting behind a Chinese takeaway, and he decided to engage in sexual acts that were illegal. Now, he must face the consequences of his crimes.
Dredd
Striker
Burnopfield Mackem
Striker
When the club do wrong I am the first to criticise, this particular situation is an absolute legal and moral minefield with no winners and losers and best just left in my opinion as only a privileged and select amount of people truly know all the facts and all the legalities. Many on here are being absolute Fannie's purely speculating.
In your opinion, again you asked me how I had the experience I had but ignored the response.
D
Deleted member 26
Guest
Wondered when this would start, be prepared for a shit storm.
pedro_1879
Winger
I have a feeling it will, especially in the post Savile/yewtree world we live in now
Brilliant post
O
ollie c
Guest
I'm Spartacus
Striker
Is this the same sun that would happily display the "assets" of girls just a few months older for gadgies to furiously wank over????
Prepared for one, we are in one, but there is no way we will be deducted points
D
Deleted member 26
Guest
I don't think anyone forgets that point tbh.
R
Reiver
Guest
FFS man, just step back and look at what you've just posted and other jokers have 'liked'.
Have you ever been to a football match?
Do you really believe any club statement, no matter what, would stop abuse from other supporters.
Dear me ....... people on here really detach themselves from reality when they're on a keyboard bashing crusade.
Black Cat Gypsy
Striker
The Daily Mail said the same. This is the newspaper that keep shown pictures of Bella Thorne and Kylie Jenner looking 'hot' at the The Kids Choice Awards! Also the BBC have going on about what the club knew. All we need now is the Catholic Church for a full card of hypocritesYes, the Sun who had a countdown to when Charlotte Church would be legally shagable
Rickybilly
Striker
I suspect, and it is a suspicion, that when SAFC suspended him they did so without pay. PFA then step in and argue his suspension must be with pay. Suspension lifted.
NeilP
Winger
See the thing is the world, following the lead of the redtops, is castigating the club for not acting more decisively, and some of our own fans are buying into this witch hunt. But it just doesn't make sense.
The timelime....
The redtops sure do know how to sell papers to the sheeple.
The timelime....
- News breaks that a Sunderland player has committed a sex offense, the club moves swiftly to suspend that player. very good.
- During interviews between club, player, lawyers, PFA, me granny, evidence was passed to the club by the defence proving the player's guilt. So the club reinstate him to full team status. very bad.
The redtops sure do know how to sell papers to the sheeple.
R
Reiver
Guest
Rober33
Winger
The meeting was an introductory meeting between Johnson and his new Barrister, that's the scope of it.
Yes because my follow up question was going to be whether you meant in criminal trials, whether you mean in Crown Court etc. and then continue to ask why being a witness would have any bearing on your understanding of what barristers can legally /can't legally do but I decided it was getting a bit invasive, asking you follow up q's about your life etc, and would invariably come across as dismissive, which I don't mean to be, but I don't understand why being a witness in cases gives you any insight on what you suggested it did...
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