AIBU to be very pleased that Sheffield Utd have recognised that the rapist Ched Evans is toxic

[WeirdCatLady]

Very good news.

Good to see some sense being shown (finally).

The rapist Ched Evans will not be signed by Sheffield United because of the 'toxic' reaction to their (stupid) plan.

Eh? I haven't heard this. Last I heard he was training with them. Good news if it is true though.

I'd prefer it if Sheffield United wouldnt sign the rapist Ched Evans due to a sense of decency about the fact he's a fucking unrepentant rapist and he had his scum family and cohorts are harassing the VICTIM of the rapist Ched Evans.

Right, but to me that actually means "we would have had no qualms about connecting with a sex offender but when we realised the impact on our brand/commercial revenue we decided not to do so".

Where did you see this OP?

mymummade put it better than me.

www.ibtimes.co.uk/ched-evans-sheffield-united-will-refuse-re-sign-toxic-rapist-footballer-1474988

Apparently they will announce it tomorrow. I agree that their reasons are flawed and it should never have even been considered. But it's still the right move.

It's also in the daily fail
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2835884/Rapist-Ched-Evans-not-offered-contract-Sheffield-United-club-chiefs-shocked-public-reaction-toxic-former-striker.html

I don't see it as much of a win if they've basically been forced into it. Left to their own devices they would have had that rapist back in a heartbeat.

Shocked? What planet are they on?this has brought it home to me just how much unseen evil there is out there. And I work in a prison.

They were shocked people were against him returning?!

Muppets

I hope they do the right thing and make a statement against rape and victim shaming

"The club wanted Ched to play for them and expected to get some grief because of that. But they have been blown off course by the strength of the feeling of the general public and people and companies connected to the club," the source told the Sun.

"They feel Ched has become toxic now and he is too much of a divisive figure."

So yes, they are making this move essentially because of commercial concerns. Not because it's the right thing to do. Shame they dragged their heels so much.

I don't see it as much of a win if they've basically been forced into it. Left to their own devices they would have had that rapist back in a heartbeat.

^^ Just that.
Proven by their arrangement to have him back training.

I don't think they ever had any intention of re-signing them, which is why the lawyers etc didn't get involved. As the manager said, he hasn't played for more than 2 years, he was miles away from being a good enough footballer to be signed by any professional club. It was just an old mate doing him a favour by letting him train with them - if they'd been considering signing him, all the business heads would have seen straight away what a bad idea it was and it would have been dismissed out of hand.

I do agree broadly with all the outrage but is no-one at all uneasy about the fact that he's served his sentence and needs to get on with his life but isn't going to allowed to earn a living? Maybe we don't agree with the length of his sentence and he certainly should be showing more remorse but under the law, as it is, he's done his time.

He's done his time in custody. He's still on licence. I must admit I wouldn't like to be his offender manager attempting to carry out victim awareness work.

Not great they had to be forced into it but excellent that they're not going to re-sign him.

It was just an old mate doing him a favour by letting him train with them
That's utter rubbish. There's no way they would have risked the reputation of the club just to do a mate a favour.
He was going back into training to see if he was fit to rejoin the team. End of.

There's an argument to say he's served his time but NIT when his family are harassing his victim on his behalf

*NOT.

No idea why iPad assumed I'd mean NIT.

No, of course not Sallyingforth. But, I am prepared to believe that the manager, acting alone, wasn't bright enough to see the fall-out, or was bolshie enough not to care (we're talking about Nigel Clough). As soon as "the club" and all it's advisors got involved in any contract negotiations, they would have put a stop to it. "The club" probably wasn't even aware he was going to train, it would have been a decision the manager made without reference to anyone else.

It's not unusual for players out of contract, who've lost form or are coming back from injury to be allowed to train with their old club, or a club managed by one of their old team mates. It very rarely means a contract is on the table.

TheAlias plenty of people cannot go back to their old jobs after a conviction of something as serious as rape. This is not unusual.

I am so pleased about this development. Yes I am slightly pissed off that they have only refused to re-sign because of pressure, but I am really heartened that there has been such strong feeling about this (although the fact I am heartened is quite depressing in itself I guess).

I honestly did not think it would pan out this way - I thought he would quietly slip back into SU and that would be it, bar a few jeers from opposition supporters o his first few matches.

They haven't "recognised that he's toxic"

They have (seemingly reluctantly) accepted that they can't get away with having him back and expecting the fuss to go away.

I wonder how long the girlfriend will stick around when he's working in a call centre.

btw I was EXTREMELY pleased about Jessica's stand

I will save my sympathy for the victim, who most certainly cannot go back to her old life (any aspect of it - not even her own name) not her rapist.

He's perfectly free to go and earn a living, but there is no need for him to earn his extremely high wages as a footballer, in the public eye, contributing to the normalisation of rape culture, re victimising his victim through his public profile and the rape apologists who have harassed her daily since he was convicted, and acting as a role model to young men.

He can work as a street cleaner, or night porter, or anything else that pays minimum wage and keeps him out of the public consciousness. Nobody wants him in our faces.