Yesterday ex England footballer Adam Johnson was convicted on one count of sexual activity with a child. He admitted two other counts and was cleared of one further charge. Johnson, now 28, was told by the judge to expect between five and ten years in jail.
In light of this serious case and Johnson’s conviction it’s somewhat odd (to say the least) that a groom on his stag do in Magaluf decided this would be a good time, as if there’s ever a good time, to dress up as the disgraced footballer while his mates dressed up as schoolgirls. What's even odder is that the lads on tour were so proud of their outfits that they thought it would be a good idea to share a picture on a
, where Johnson's rose up through the ranks.
They took a picture of their inspired outfits which was shared on social media with the caption ‘best stag night ever’. It has since been shared thousands of times on social media, surely not because anyone thinks their choice of outfit was a good idea?!
Sunderland AFC are facing heavy criticism for their decision to allow Johnson to continue playing despite the fact that the midfielder was arrested for child sex offences on March 2nd last year, following his sexual involvement with a 15-year-old schoolgirl. Child protection experts have called their decision a ‘catastrophic error of judgement’ according to the Guardian.
The former footballer, who has now been dropped by Sunderland and had a deal with Adidas cancelled, has a daughter who is just over one-year-old with his former partner, she was born just weeks before he engaged in sexual activity with the 15-year-old in question.
In an anonymous statement, Johnson’s victim said,
‘The last 12 months have been horrendous and there have been times when I’ve wanted to hide away from the world.’
‘I’ve felt so broken. I hope Adam realises the hurt and damage he has caused.’
Johnson, as a footballer, a public figure, should have been setting an example. He failed to do that and abused his position as well as the young women he engaged in sexual activities with.
Dressing up as Adam Johnson hardly seems like an appropriate fancy dress choice for a stag do, there’s absolutely nothing LOLZ about this story. Sexual abusers and victims of sexual abuse is on the long list of things it’s not ok to dress up as for ‘fun’.
All this shows is, rather depressingly, that Football isn’t the only sphere were gross laddism is seen as the norm (cc Ched Evans). There’s still a long way to go before sexism, sexual abuse and lad culture are seen for what they are…abhorrent violations of respect, decency, power and equality.
You might also be interested in:
'My Teenage Relationship With An Older Man Still Haunts Me Today'
Football Player Arrested On Suspicion Of Sex With A 15-Year-Old
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.