Eric Tillman, former general manager of the Saskatchewan Roughriders pleads guilty to sexually assaulting his 16 year old babysitter yet the fact that he gets away with only an absolute discharge comes as no surprise.The sports industry is ridden with instances of men committing such crimes as sexual assault but only to be let off with a slap on the wrist and their career bouncing back like never before. If we all look back a couple of years to the summer of 2003, the story of American basketball player Kobe Bryant comes to mind. Although Bryant's own case was far more serious with charges of rape, his career has bounced back nicely with him signing a seven year $136 million contract only a year after the allegations. He regained several of his endorsement deals and was named the NBA's Most Valuable Player in 2008. Although, I like to think we up in here in Canada have a stronger moral compass than our American counterparts it is safe to say that Tillman's career is going to bounce back very nicely. In fact, his name is now more recognized although not in a positive light but any publicity is good publicity, right. I for one who knows absolutely nothing about football would not know who Tillman is, were it not for his sexual assault case.
Recently, the Edmonton Eskimos announced Tillman would be the team's new general manager. Even if Tillman was not offered the position of general manager for the oh so desperate Edmonton Eskimos, it was only a matter of time before he would regain his career. The Eskimos' offer just served to speed up the process of his career come back. Desperate times call for desperate measures as proven by the Eskimos new hire. However, I can't really blame the Eskimos management, they are doing whatever it takes to redeem the team after so many losses.Tillman has proven to be an excellent manager with the success of the Roughriders during his time with the team. Although, some Eskimos fans are absolutely outraged by Tillman's hire, once the winning begins it should come as no surprise that their outrage will sedate. This is due to fact that at the end of the day in sports all that matters is winning.
An interesting blog - and interesting comparisons, too.
ReplyDeleteI wonder, though, whether you are not confusing two things: institutional reactions to such actions (e.g. by sporting bodies such as the Edmonton Eskimos or the CFL) and legal reactions.
Your blog suggests that the court was influenced by his position as a well known sporting person. This is quite a serious allegation (for which you have no basis in your piece), and goes beyond the immediate story to suggest that the justice system in Canada is heavily biased - in factr this becomes what your piece is about, especially as you then discount the medical evidence that has been considered in law.
Well, you may well be right, but I think you then need to justify this assertion by producing back-up material showing that the courts are biased - aother court case would be useful here.
Personally, I can well believe that institutions, especially sporting ones, may indeed be prepared to overlook moral or ethical questions in their search for success. However, I personally have more faith in the courts than you seem to have (especially as this kind of bias is so open to appeal in our system, and no-one appealed this outcome).
The question is a crucial one - if you think about it, then if the courts are corrupt in this way, the whole basis of your way of life in Canada is in jeapody - and there are plenty of examples of corrupt countries in the world where this happens.
Finally, in the interest of reporting accuracy, I think you should have mentioned at the end that the babysitter - and her family - not only have publicly forgiven Tillman, but have suggested everyone should get on with their lives. Of course one may be cynical about these remarks, too, but nonetheless you should give them.
I think what I am suggesting here is that although the viewpoint you have taken is perfectly valid, your argument has slightly muddled two distinct things - public (sporting) reaction and legal action.
After reading your comments I see where you are coming from. Although in this blog I sound quite cynical about the justice system in Canada, I truly believe itis a strong and fair system. I feel priviledged to be living in Canada where laws are obeyed and upheld. Having spent the first half of my life living in Nigeria, I am well aware of the distinct differences between countries where corruption is rampant and countries like Canada. I think in my blog I should have put more emphasis on public reaction as opposed to legal reaction so as not to get the two confused.
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