Ched Evans. an overpaid footballer, was sent to prison for rape. His sentence was, apparently, 5 years, and he has, as is the custom, been released after serving just half of his sentence behind bars; the rest is 'on licence', meaning that he can now live at home but has to report regularly to the authorities and behave himself on pain of being returned to prison.
There has been much said about him since his early release, probably much more than was ever said before he committed the offence for which he was imprisoned. Most of this commentary has been negative and one can hardly blame the commentators. The problem is that Mr Evans wants to resume his career as a footballer.
If he had been a carpenter or plumber, no one would have heard anything about all of this; he'd have done his time and come out, picked up some work and that would have been the end of it. Unfortunately, he's not a carpenter or plumber, he's a footballer. In the distorted world in which we now live, footballers are, somehow, at the top of the tree when it comes to 'celebrity'. Even though the vast majority of the population could happily walk passed him in the street without having any idea as to his identity, he is that worst of all possible human creatures - a 'celebrity'.
Because of his status, Evans' career is also an issue. Footballers tend to be role models for children and, as such, their conduct is under scrutiny. While on-field thuggery is accepted as being 'par-for-the-course', rape is, no doubt surprisingly to some, considered a little too much to stomach. For others, he's served his sentence and should now be allowed to resume his career. I feel that the truth is somewhere in between.
The fact is that Evans has not yet served his sentence. His release 'on licence' was after serving just half of the 5 years imposed on him. To my mind, he still had 2½ years to go and for him to be welcomed back into the celebrity world of football before that time is up is entirely wrong. Once the full 5 years have passed, again to my mind, he should then be available for clubs to think about signing him up.
Right now, it's reported that Oldham Athletic, a League One club (which equates to old style third division) are reported to be on the point of signing Evans up. 'Why ?' is a question that occurs immediately, but the answer is probably pretty simple. Evans is desperate to get back in to the only job he can do and it wouldn't surprise me if he was offering his services for free. Oldham could undoubtedly do with a player of Evans' abilities, so ........................ .
This is not an easy situation but it seems to me that it can be simply resolved. Evans still has a significant portion of his sentence to serve and, until that time is up, he should not be allowed anywhere near a football pitch. His 'celebrity' status dictates this and it has nothing do with silly legal arguments about such things as 'restraint of trade'.. Once the full 5 years are up, he should be free to work as a footballer anywhere he likes or, at least, anywhere that will have him.
Evans was convicted of doing something very bad and to expect to simply forget it and go back to a privileged lifestyle is wrong. He has to be made to understand this and to accept it. So do the clubs who still want to ignore basic morality in pursuit of footballing glory.
