Vern Halen wrote:ziggy wrote:I think its black and white, he did it and now admits it, can't see how more black and white it can get. I feel sorry for the victim and her family ,and for Tillman's family, but not for Tillman himself. I wonder why he waited so long and by doing so caused further stress to the victim and speculation about her involvement, only to plead guilty. So while the victims family probably wants it all to "go away" to protect their daughter I wouldn't be surprised if they also would like a few minutes alone with Tillman, I know I would!
Disagree - why would they want him not to lose his job over this, then?
The motives could be wide ranging but if you want one possibility.
1. The Riders are very important to the province of Sask
2. Like him or not, ET has helped to make the Riders a team that most fans there are happy with
3. Losing him is likely to invite some negative reactions towards both the girl and her family because of the knob factor of some fans. (We have already seen a few suggestions about her possible role and her fathers alleged request for money to drop the case).
4. Publicly stating forgiveness takes them off the hook for any negative outcome in regards to Tillman's future employment (we didn't ask for this to happen).
At the end of the day maybe she has forgiven him and so on but I am just as inclined to believe that she wants all of this go away and that even though she may cope with it well, will never ever be able to forget it. She gets to carry this incident with her the rest of her life through no fault of her own.
I don't think anyone wins in this situation but one poster at RF said it best when he basically pointed out that ET has staunchly asserted his innocence and has dragged this scenario out for a year only to plead guilty. Was he lying? I'm not sure but that to me is more problematic than even the incident. I don't condone his actions but sometimes judgment can be affected by drugs. What was his excuse for his claims of truth and innocence? Was it stress? Did his lawyer make him say it? Do we even care? Had he said, I can't/won't comment on this until the legal process is complete that would have been just fine. That isn't what he did. That makes me wonder about the truthfulness about everything else he as claimed. As the face of the Riders, you can't profess to be a beacon of conduct and at the same time do what he did both on the day in question and subsequently. He made a bad mistake, one that I think might have been survivable had he either stepped up right away and said "I messed up" or at the very least let it play out in court before making a statement about the merits of the situation. His subsequent actions suggested someone who knew they had done wrong but was looking for some angle to avoid taking responsibility until all the angles were gone. He set the board and now has no pieces left to play. That isn't the kind of image that any football team wants to shoulder. I feel sorry for everyone connected with the situation including Rider fans, the families involved and the Riders organization. ET however, while not Jack the Ripper, doesn't get anything from me for the mess he now finds himself in.
Tell me how long must a fan be strong? Ans. Always.
