To feel sorry for Boris Becker?

[dottiedodah]

I dont know why ,but I just felt a bit sorry for him .I know he has behaved badly and squandered money he was supposed to use towards his creditors .But he just seemed so beaten somehow ,from Wimbledon to Prison .Such a fall from grace . YABU He deserves all he gets. Yanbu Feel sorry for him harsh treatment.

He owed his creditors $50 MILLION.

He was found guilty of tax evasion years ago. He's a liar and a cheat.

I have zero sympathy for him.

He will probably serve it in an open prison. But he seemed to think his celebrity and being a nice guy would save him. He obviously has problems following rules. Its the fact he lied and continued to lie and try to deceive the authorities that has led to him being jailed, not being bankrupted. He's made a terrible mess of his life since retiring from tennis, and it might have been better if he had stayed involved in the game somehow for a bit of structure and routine.

I bet he would have got longer in Germany!

I doubt it @AchatAVendre, they idolise him in Germany. He got handed a 2 year suspended sentence in Germany for doing similar (tax evasion) 20 years ago, and it still didn't deter him. In fact, I'd say that situation probably "proved" to him that he was above the law. He's found out to his cost, that he's not.

I get the impression he has a drink problem, seems to have a very puffed up face, yet he thinks some expensive clothes and slicking back his hair will stop us noticing!

£50 million is a lot of money, I would struggle to spend that!

It is surprising anyone would lend him that, as his main source of income was personal appearances.

I didn't know that. Well, it hasn't really done him any favours in the long run but might explain why he thought not admitting to owning a car dealership in Germany was something he would get away with!

YABVU for not giving the thread a title such as:

Judge jails Boris for 2 1⁄2 years - good riddance

i read that he did used to have a drink problem so perhaps he fell off the wagon

No I don't feel sorry for another arrogant lying rich wanker. Just a shame not more are prosecuted. Specially the other thieving liar boris

My elderly neighbour didn't want to part with his war medals but he ended up selling them just to pay some bills.

Life is shit sometimes but it's possible to get on with it, without breaking the law.

It's a bit odd seeing a high profile person walk into court for a financial issue and them actually go straight to prison. I think we've got used to seeing people leaving court pending appeals in the US and this feels surprising.
So yes it's a shock that he's actually gone to bed tonight in prison but it's not wrong.

Considering some of the piss takers who abuse the bankruptcy process, I do feel sorry for the guy.

Badly advised, poor judgment and some silly behaviour.

I feel sad that someone i watched aged 17 do something amazing is now in this state but for me, it’s more about feeling jaded, disillusioned as a result.

I'm torn on this. On the one hand, I do feel slightly sorry for him. He won Wimbledon at seventeen didn't he? Reaching the pinnacle of your sport at that young age means two things: 1. you are suddenly plunged in to wealth and success at an age where you can't really handle it and 2. you may not have had a decent education because you were busy training. Those factors combined probably set you up for a lifetime of financial mismanagement.

On the other hand, if he didn't pay money he owed to the "little" people and left others carrying his debt, then I don't have much sympathy tbh. He had been given due warning in 2002 when he received a suspended sentence in Germany for tax evasion so it wasn't like he was unaware of the risks and yet he carried on as before. And I don't have sympathy for high earners who don't want to pay their share of tax. He'll only serve half of his sentence, so fifteen months if that , and presumably he will be in an open prison, and possibly allowed to do some sort of activity so hopefully he'll have the gumption to stick it out and not do anything stupid.

He is a professional gambler. His greed overtook him.

i feel sorry for the boris who won Wimbledon as a boy. But he should have attempted to pay his debts. It’s been about gambling for years now.

It's not like he will be a category A prisoner, he will serve his sentence in an open prison, be a celebrity prisoner. It is a white collar crime, there should be a different way to prison like being forced to sweep the streets or be a bin man for the length or his sentence & live in a hostel.

Yabu

Why not spare a thought for the people he owed money to, and who he refused to repay, despite having plenty of cash.

A rich, entitled man takes other people's money and won't give it back. Gosh, yes, very sad 🤔

I believe that we should be able to find ways of giving non-violent offenders who aren't a danger to the public meaningful sentences that aren't seen as "a slap on the wrist" without imprisonment.

He already had that chance, with his previous conviction, and still continued to act above the law.

I'm struggling to sleep at night with a £500 overdraft with little prospect of being in the black anytime soon.

He somehow (I'm struggling to think how the FUCK) ran up FIFTY MILLION QUID of debt and failed to declare assets including a fucking million pound home, and sentimental value Wimbledon trophies.

Lack of self control and self awareness at best, complete arrogance, lies and contempt at worst. He deserves to be imprisoned, his accountants investigated, funds and assets seized and distributed to his debtors and join the ranks of your average struggling man.

YABVVVU

Of course its sad how is life has turned out, I remember watching him as a kid with my dad (who was a massive tennis fan) but at the end of the day he's a responsible for his own actions. Its really hard to have any sympathy, especially given he played in one of the most financially lucrative sports there is yet he squanders it all because he cannot afford to live within his means. Furthermore, he is a serious womanizer.

Seems to be a bit of theme for men called Boris.

I was quite shocked that he got a prison sentence , not because it wasn't an appropriate consequence but because its unusual for a celebrity (I assume they can normally hire the best lawyers who can get them a more lenient punishment)
I do think it's sad from looking at the teenager who won Wimbledon to now, but that's not to say it wasn't a fair result.

Er no. He broke the law, severely and had plenty of opportunities to rectify things so sympathy here. He seems like an arrogant arsehole actually.

you would think his advisers and accountants should be held to account

Worraliberty Yes its shit that older people are now having to resort to selling precious medals .I know of a widow who has had to resort to selling all her jewellery as well . I think going to prison for people like this though, does it really achieve anything? 30k per prisoner I think per year .When he comes out will he then write a book ,go on chat shows etc like dear Mr Archer did?

I don't feel sorry for him but I do think it very sad that someone with everything could have such a fall from grace , I mean what he's been thinking .

I do not feel sorry for him. We lost our business due to someone who owed us a very great deal of money going strategically bankrupt. He was a serial bankrupt. This person flaunted his private plane, his farm and his helicopter on social media but we could not do a damn thing about it and only ran up more money trying to get a court to take it seriously.

I remain hopeful that this person gets his one day. Our own solicitor told us 'don't worry- eventually they will fuck over the wrong person and end up with broken legs'. I would have been happy with jailing. BB thought his fame and his arrogance would protect him. I'm pleased to see it does not always work like that.