Johns' own Sword of Damocles

Gang rape by footballers



With all that has been said and done in relation to the off-field behaviour of sportsmen and woman, is this really a great shock to anyone who has been watching the moral compass of society spinning uncontrollably for decades?

Putting aside that Mathew Johns has had the Sword of Damocles hanging over his head for many years and that is certainly painful enough for anyone who genuinely regrets such a huge mistake, which I do believe this man does, the true victims here, not excluding the woman involved of course, are his very loving, forgiving and understanding wife Trish and his children who are all innocently associated to this disgusting act and should be given the highest amount of sympathy and understanding.

I can only imagine the ribbing that the kids will get in the school yard and the vacant stares that Mrs Johns will receive as she goes about her life. Prior to this they would have all held a position in society of pride and now ...well you know what I mean.

The unknown woman involved in this, is in my opinion based on her own testimony, did not consent to multiple partners thus I would believe at the time was disassociated with the fear that "sexual abuse" (which is not proven , no charge or conviction applies in this case) brings and was powerless to stop this.

Therefore it is my conclusion that Johns, being a man of 30 years and a senior player at the time should have not encouraged the orgy but rather taken control and forced the other men out but he didn't and is just as cowardly as those who now refuse to come forward.

Infidelity is but one of the moral crimes here but certainly some form of compensation should be paid to the woman for the disgusting way that she was treated. That is the least that could be done.

Remember this woman hasn't chosen now to come forward with this, rather it was the investigative nature of a Four Corners reporter that smelled the stink of the hidden lies and thought it time to get to the truth.

Without sounding like a priest in full sermon I believe that if anything positive and good comes from this it will be a last minute change of mind that future men and woman contemplating such behaviour as they cast their minds back to the Matthew Johns Sex Scandal. Also that this woman's life can not only be saved from suicide but also now start to heal.

I am sure that again David Gallop (CEO of football's NRL) will never get enough sleep and will be counting the days until retirement, although I do hope he hangs in there and keeps the pressure on all the clubs to police morality in its players.

There were of course more players involved, up to seven as reported, and I guess they should be taking their share of the shame and blame that Matthew has taken on fully but in saying that I am sure they are all silently suffering a very real form of hell especially as they will have their own significant personal relationship issues to now deal with, from girlfriends to wives and again innocent children.

Please can this be the end of this terrible treatment of woman and of self respect. These footballers are looked upon by the youth as role models and this must never be underestimated.