I don’t believe the timeline backs that up. They signed him knowing he was a PITA in both Pittsburgh and Oakland and literally never took the field for a single play in Oakland but cut bait as soon as the SA/rape allegations came out. They drew a line between being awful in the locker room and awful off the field which is suprising and admirable.
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They knew about the civil lawsuit brought by his personal trainer for raping her when they signed him. That was all over the news… that they signed him amid the allegations and the civil law suit.
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I really don’t think we should be using the NFL as the example on how to handle athletes with violent offenses…
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This cannot be overemphasized. I won’t have a single thing to do with the NFL - no merch, no watching games, not even a Super Bowl party - because of the way they handle athletes and violent offenses. That is literally the lowest standard I can think of. Surely we can not only do better but WAY better.
Suspension once charges are filed seems reasonable to me. As others noted, they don’t file charges w/o some good evidence that there is a case to adjudicate.
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Sorry I should have clarified, he got fired once a police investigation was initiated and I’m not using the NFL I’m using one team. It’s similar to this case. If EA suspends this rider he might end up riding for another country.
If he does get convicted, he won’t be going anywhere.
Well yes that goes without saying. I just don’t get the argument of don’t suspend without a conviction or that these people should be even allowed to play with a conviction.
I used the NFL in my analogy for a reason. USEF was no different, maybe worse, than the NFL before Safe Sport. It’s crazy to think otherwise. If a BNT/R was charged with rape here, the USEF wouldn’t ban them if Safe Sport didn’t make them.
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Esepcially since we know this guy has had at least one Yellow Card warning in the past at FEI events, not exactly a model competitor.
But is the NFL actually banning these guys? Or is it just the individual teams that are choosing to dump them? If their governing body the NFL is not banning them, it’s a bit apples and oranges comparing them to USEF.
In terms of Australia it is like the NFL. USEF not anymore due to Safe Sport. I don’t for a minute think that the people would be banned for crimes without Safe Sport. Suspended maybe. Banned no. Certainly not cut from the Olympic team if the allegations came out right after the team was selected.
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I was looking at the usef safe sport list and noticed Jimmy Williams & Bob Gage are off the list. I’m guessing because they are deceased.
from the site
Sanctioned individuals who are deceased are removed from this list after 90 days
Too bad. I think we need the constant reminder.
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Yet, John Manning is on the SafeSport sanction list with loss of privileges (which I think means he can do course design only) but not listed on the USEF site.
I’m really curious about how the different levels are decided.
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I attended a GM clinic as an auditor about 15 years ago in Birmingham, AL at a farm where the trainer was whispered to have been one of GM’s romantic partners years ago. GM was supposed to “have lunch” with the clinic participants and sign his book. He sat in a chair as if he were on a throne and never looked a soul in the eye. He looked like an old toadstool. He was mean as a hyena at the clinic, ripped the handle off my friend’s crop, and all I could think was wow, if PR paid his bills he would be homeless. Yet the young riders both male and female were so in awe, I can imagine GM could have done anything with them he wanted. I have yet to hear if his fall clinic at this particular farm is cancelled for this year.
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But think of the people they left behind, especially by suicide. At least in the case of RG, he had legions of people who loved him for what was good in him. They have enough of a battle in healing their wounds, without seeing his name on the list years after the death.
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I don’t want to derail the thread, but I have an honest question. Why are trainers that are training kids not required by law to get a full background check and fingerprints done, as well as their spouses and barn workers? It’s mandatory in most child care settings, if I am not mistaken.
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An employer like the Patriots can fire someone “without cause”, while a governing body has to follow some level of due process (show cause).
My comment was in response to a poster who felt sanctions should not be levied based on allegations. I used the Patriots as an example because they did just that even though they might still have to pay him per the contract. Also, the rider in question has been charged, I think that’s enough cause to at least suspend him.
Not having his name on the list invalidates what the victims went through. It’s like what happens so often in cases of sexual abuse with minors, they’re expected to get over it and pretend it never happened.
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