One of two things going on here. Either he is instinctively a predator, or he got so carried away with his fame and power and bored of what his money could buy him that he got a thrill out of doing something he knew he shouldn't do. What an idiot. He is in for a very difficult time in the Big House. Very difficult to feel any sympathy for him. He had a bit of a strut on when he came out of court yesterday but he will be crying like a baby when that cell door first closes. Anyone who thinks it really is like a holiday camp in there is very much deluded. And yes, end of career I would have thought.
Unlucky, stupid or an abusive and dangerous individual?
Hopefully he can move on and whatever his impulse do something positive when he gets out. He will certainly have enough money and time to make a real difference in others life's if he so chooses.
I am a bit irked to see that today a womens group has said that Sunderland 'must come clean' about what it knew and when in deciding whether to suspend/dismiss Johnson.
No they mustn't. Those matters are confidential as between the club and the player - employer and employee don't forget. Any employer, football club or not, faces a very delicate situation when one of it's employees is charged with a criminal offence. They would be reluctant to sit in judgment themselves pending the outcome of the criminal case, and would not want to prejudice that outcome either way. They have to balance the interests of the individual, the external legal process, and their own interests. They of course risk being sued if they take action that they ultimately can not justify.
I know that this group has an agenda, and personally I have no problem with womens rights groups as generally they do good work for what is still a section of society that gets a worse deal than their male counterparts in many ways, but I do think that by putting out statements like the one they have issued today they risk damaging their own reputation and cause. Perhaps they could have been more discerning, and actually have recognised that the club was faced with a very difficult situation through which it tried to map a course, ultimately dismissing Johnson without hesitation once his guilt was established. Myself, I would respect them and their work if they were a bit less pointed and a bit more balanced. It is very easy to sit in judgment on others - especially high profile others - after the event.
I thought the most interesting aspect of yesterday's sentencing proceedings were the insights from the expert psychologists report. It seems that Johnson didn't particularly desire his victim because of her age. He didn't see age as an issue. He just saw all females as fair game. He had a disregard for the significance of her age. He isn't a paedophile in the sense that most of us understand the term. He was described as socially and mentally immature. A child on a mans body but with time and almost limitless money to spare and with adulation from his public. I would think he isn't the only footballer in that situation. A lot of them only know that world from a young age. It is something the football authorities and PFA need to look very carefully at.
It's proper to suspend anyone accused of a crime where others are potentially at risk.
I also think he's quite clearly a predator. He is the very definition. It's not like a predator feels bad and has to think about it anymore than a serial killer. They are just that . There is no cognitive dissonance. They don't know because they can't empathise.