I’m Speaking Out About It Now

Tags

1970s, anxiety, Asperger's Syndrome, Autism, books, bullying, He Was Weird, mental health, Mothers, schools, sexual abuse, teachers

There is a scene in my book, “He Was Weird,” which I call the “Smiley Incident.” To bring those who haven’t read it up to speed, Smiley is a substitute PE teacher at Mark’s school. While Mark is playing basketball with his fellow students, Smiley begins calling Mark, “Coordination Plus.” Then at one point, when Mark has his back to him, Smiley pulls Mark’s shorts down thus humiliating Mark in front of his entire class resulting in him getting teased about it for the rest of the day. When he goes home after school, Mark tells his mother about the pulling down of his pants. His mother and his grandfather immediately contact the police and have Smiley arrested.

As is the case with Mark throughout the story, even though Smiley pleads guilty to indecent assault as part of a deal and is banned from working with children for five years and put on the sex offenders list for two years, it doesn’t end well for him. Fellow classmates who support Smiley take the consequences he faces for his action out on the victim. This leads to Mark being further bullied and even to physical violence because he told his parents and had Smiley sent away.

Like with so many instances of bullying mentioned in the book, this too happened to me. However, it did not happen during the three years of bullying hell which I suffered and inspired me to write “He Was Weird.” In my freshman year in high school, I did encounter a man nicknamed Smiley who volunteered as an assistant wrestling coach, I’m not totally sure of that fact, at my school. He did join in with us playing basketball at one of my PE classes and he did call me ‘Coordination Plus.’ Most importantly though, he did pull my shorts down. However, I did nothing about it. In fact, I never mentioned it until 14 years ago when I was in counselling.

Why didn’t I report it back then? Well the main answer to that is that if I had, nothing would have been done about it. Attitudes were different in 1976 and while this doesn’t excuse it, it does highlight the fact that if I had reported it to the school, Smiley would have gotten a mere slap on the wrist at most and I would have been made out to be the weak ‘pussy’ for telling on him. This was why I was so easily able to write about the reprisals on Mark in the story because I genuinely feared that would have happened to me if I had reported it. I probably would have been beaten up by the wrestling team, so I feared. That’s why I never said anything. Ironically, when working as a substitute teacher a few years back, I did tell a class of children around the same age Mark was in the story about it. They overwhelmingly stated that I should have had Smiley done. Oh, how things have changed.

For those same reasons, I have never told my mother. She passed away in March never knowing that her son had been indecently assaulted in high school. I believe at the time, if I had told her, she and my grandfather would have reacted the same way Mark’s do in the story and even though it was 1976, would have tried to have Smiley prosecuted. They probably would have succeeded in getting him banned from the school. However, my fears were that all of the above things mentioned would have still happened to me. I would have been the bad guy for reporting it, even more so because I got my mother involved and there would have been a backlash. Therefore, I never told anyone. Besides if I had brought it up to my mother years later, it would have only caused her more grief, so I’m glad I never told her.

One final reason why I am only posting about it now after all these years is down to my own Asperger’s fueled anxieties. Former abuse victims have been coming out and telling about their awful experiences and I praise them highly for doing so. That leads to another anxiety; having my shorts pulled down isn’t nearly as bad as some of the sexual abuse others have suffered. Because what I experienced isn’t horrific, I felt I had no right to talk about it. It’s only now that I do and what it has done is make me even more empathetic to those who have suffered worse things than I. Also there’s my anxiety that because people are coming out about their abuse, I will be seen as simply jumping on the bandwagon. While it might sound daft, I do hope that people don’t really think that.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

To buy He Was Weird, go to: https://www.amazon.co.uk/He-Was-Weird-Michael-Lefevre/dp/1909740942/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1543425136&sr=1-1&keywords=he+was+weird

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All Things Lead to He Was Weird

Tags

American football, Americans, anxiety, Asperger's Syndrome, Autism, books, bullying, christianity, communication, D.A.M.P., films, friendship, Great Britain, guns, He Was Weird, ice hockey, intolerance, Marine Corps, Michael D LeFevre, Mothers, music, police, school shootings, schools, Self Esteem, social settings, teachers, teasing

My main motivation for starting Peaceful Rampage was to use it to notify people of my book, “He Was Weird,” which has been out for more than five years now. I have attracted a good number of followers, but while many have followed me because they share an interest in one area, I tend to blog about many topics which individuals may not be interested. The thing is that nearly everything I post about does in some way connect to the book. Therefore, I thought I would spend this page relating how.

Asperger’s Syndrome and Autism: This seems to be the field where I have attracted the most followers. Unlike Mark, the main character in the book, I have never been diagnosed with the condition although I am convinced that I have it. Therefore, it is great to find that there are many people who are like me. I feel part of a community and I enjoy reading posts from fellow Aspies and hope they enjoy reading mine. On the other hand, I don’t feel the need to write every post about it.

Bullying: I was a victim of horrendous bullying for three years and that was the inspiration to write “He Was Weird.” I wrote the book and this blog to reach out to other victims in the hopes that together, we can stamp out bullying and silence the ghosts of our own pasts.

School Shootings: That is how Mark finally deals with his bullying in the story. See, my bullying was so bad that whenever I read about a school shooting, my first response is, “This could have been me.” I sometimes wonder if I have a morbid fascination with mass shootings and that worries me. What I am glad is that I never had any access to guns back then.

Religion: Religion was a part of my childhood and I became a Born Again Christian at 11. As it was during the three years of bullying hell, I put it in the story and even use scripture to give Mark the courage to carry out his shooting. Nowadays, while I still believe the basics of Christianity and found that the Mormon faith was the best for me, I don’t wish to follow any organized religion. Because of my Asperger’s, I think that religion messed my head up more than everything else, most likely because I believed everything so literally. Still, I respect anyone who has religious or spiritual beliefs and can live by those beliefs.

Politics: There is not much of this in the story except at the end when the peace group Mark’s mother belongs to is infiltrated by Homeland Security. However, I have been politically aware and have been on both right and left of the political spectrum.

Music: My first book, “Rock and Roll Children” is about music so it’s always been a part of me as well. In “He Was Weird,” people try to blame Mark’s shooting on music and of course Marilyn Manson.

History: I love history and so does Mark. He becomes quite good at historical strategy games like Age of Empires. While history doesn’t  feature heavily in the book, it’s still there and it will always be a favourite topic of mine.

US-UK Relations: No I’m not talking about the ‘special relationship’ between the two countries. I am talking about the things I have observed about both countries during the second half of my life which I lived in the UK. That’s why after news of Mark’s shooting breaks, I do a BBC News report in the story. However, one thing I got wrong there is that the shooting didn’t lead the news and in reality, it would have.

Sports: I love sports, American football and ice hockey are my favourites. They are Mark’s too and like him, I had fantasies about being a great hockey player. It fits in well with the story.

There are probably smaller topics too but these are the main ones. I know not all of these will interest everyone but I hope that there is at least one that we hold your interest and make you read. However, it’s just not in my mindset to post about the same topic all the time. I just post what is in my weird mind at the time or I need to get off my chest. Keep reading as I am grateful for all who do.

To buy He Was Weird, go to: https://www.amazon.co.uk/He-Was-Weird-Michael-Lefevre/dp/1909740942/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1541717422&sr=1-1&keywords=he+was+weird

 

 

 

 

Hey BBC! Where’s the Hype?

Tags

Americans, BBC, books, Columbine, Crimea, Great Britain, guns, He Was Weird, police, Politics, Russia, school shootings

Aftermath of Kerch College Shooting in the Crimea

On Wednesday October 17, a seventeen year old boy went into his school with a shot gun opening fire on his fellow students killing nineteen and wounding about forty before turning the gun on himself. Sources at the school say that the gunman was self contained, didn’t speak very much, left social media and hated the school he went to as well as vowing revenge on his teachers.

The shooting had all the hallmarks of Columbine which has fathered many more copy cat shootings in the United States over the past two decades. Here’s the funny thing: This recent gun tragedy didn’t take place in the United States, not even close! It occurred in Crimea which is part of the territory being disputed by Russia and the Ukraine. One would have thought that the fact that this shooting took place outside of America, the media frenzy would have been all over it. Sadly, it was not the case.

Whenever a school shooting happens in the USA, the British media, especially the BBC, is all over it. Ten to fifteen minutes of a half hour newscast will be spent talking about the most recent American tragedy. Additionally, there is widespread condemnation of the American gun culture. However, there was none of this when the Crimea shooting was reported on the BBC news. (I first heard about it listening to BBC Radio 2 whilst driving.) What I heard was a brief two minute report on the shooting and the facts. No hyped up lamentations about Russia and it’s gun culture or how a teenage boy got access to a shot gun, nothing of that sort at all.

It beggars belief that the BBC didn’t report more on this recent shooting. The similarities to this shooting and all the ones which have happened in America are just too frighteningly similar. We have a loner, disassociated with his peers and teachers, who feels the world doesn’t understand him and his only option is mass violence. Most important and again not highlighted by the BBC, was the fact that this boy had access to a shot gun and enough ammunition to carry out his deed. Yet, there has been no talk of any gun culture in Russia. No one saying that Russia needs to ban guns, nothing.

We need to face facts, what happens in the US eventually makes its way around the rest of the world. I firmly believe that this is only the first of many school shootings to come outside of the US, though I really hope I’m wrong about this. Every shooting needs to be treated as the tragedy it is no matter where it happens. The people of the world should get together and call not just for banning guns in America but everywhere else too. Here’s my final thought: If the US would ban guns, maybe the rest of the world would want to get rid of theirs too.

To buy He Was Weird, go to: https://www.amazon.co.uk/He-Was-Weird-Michael-Lefevre/dp/1909740942/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1539974802&sr=1-1&keywords=he+was+weird

 

 

Maybe I Should Just Quit

Tags

American football, anxiety, Asperger's Syndrome, Autism, baseball, books, He Was Weird, sports

The LA Dodgers

Often there are times when we all feel this way, that we should just quit. It could be school, a job, a sports team, a band or any number of things. Quitting does often relieve the stress that comes with whatever the quitter is doing at the time. That no longer have to do the thing which was causing hardship in your life can often be a major release. However, while quitting might rid one of the short term stress, it often doesn’t solve the problem and can create more.

The option of quitting something came upon me two days ago. Twice a year, I organize a softball tournament in my hometown where teams from all over Britain come to play. Yes, they do play softball in the UK. For the most part, the tournament was a big success but there was a few issues as well. During the sixteen years I have been running the tournament, there has been very few injuries. This last one, however, was like a combat zone. There were at least six possibly serious injuries, including three people getting hit on the head with a ball and one more in the mouth as well as a very worrying ankle injury. To make matters worse, even though I am a qualified first aider, (I saw my certificate today), I froze when the injuries happened and my Asperger’s kicked in because there were more injuries on this day than all the tournaments going back 16 years combined. Plus, the first aid kit I kept in my car wasn’t there when I needed it. At the tournament’s conclusion, a couple of the umpires expressed their dissatisfaction at the way the injuries were handled and are going to report it to the British Softball Federation. While, I have been told not to worry about that too much it only makes me worry more. After, all I have Asperger’s and things like this play hell with my anxieties.

To further fuel the flames, the following day I received an email from the manager of the venue where the tournaments are held stating that there was a lot of litter left behind. He also made a very good point that the tournament was played by adults so there was no excuse for there to be so much litter after. I have to agree with it but the ultimately, the responsibility lies with me as the organizer. My big worry here is that he might not allow the tournaments at the venue any more and there is no real suitable place in the area to hold it. At best, there is one place but that venue is only capable of putting three diamonds on it as opposed to the four I normally have and teams will be playing on a incline. So, it’s easy to see why I don’t want to lose the venue.

As a result, I have thought of simply falling on my sword and stepping down as the tournament organizer. I even have a logical argument that I can still assist with the tournament in a support role in many ways. Not having to organize and be responsible for it would relieve many anxieties. However, if I was to quit, I don’t think anyone would be willing to take over and the tournaments would end. I also believe that many softball players would be disappointed if the tournament went away, just for the sake of getting to play more softball if nothing else. The main reason that keeps me from simply quitting is because like my post about suicide a few weeks back, I see quitting as taking the coward’s way out. I would be quitting just because a couple of things didn’t go right and not facing those challenges.

At the moment, I don’t intend to step down. Saying that, my anxieties are such that I worry that anyone who knows me through softball who reads this is going to accuse me of trying to get sympathy from everybody. That’s not the case, besides, with my experience, it would probably have the reverse effect and everyone would be telling me to quit. No, the best thing here is to learn from my mistakes and soldier on. I already have ideas for addressing the problems.

Shameless tie in with my book, “He Was Weird:” In the story Mark quits the football team because he doesn’t get to play even when his team wins 24-0. His heart was no longer in the game anyway and like my own experience which this story line is based on, quitting the team leads to further bullying from his former teammates.

To buy He Was Weird, go to: https://www.amazon.co.uk/He-Was-Weird-Michael-Lefevre/dp/1909740942/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1539210927&sr=1-1&keywords=he+was+weird

Back From Client Holiday

Tags

Asperger's Syndrome, Autism, books, Great Britain, holidays, Minehead

These past few days, I went on a client holiday to Minehead with a service user named Jerry. We went there last year and stayed at the same holiday home. Like last year, things were very laid back and it did give me some inspiration and motivation for writing my next short story.

We were only there two days but we managed to pack a lot into them. We went on the cliff train at Lynmouth and also rode the steam train the entire length this time. Here are some pictures, enjoy.

Lynmouth Harbour from the cliff train.

The fog coming off the hills

The cliff side train.

Watchet Harbour from the steam train.

 

 

 

Dodgy Tackle: The Conclusion

Tags

books, crime, Great Britain, soccer, sports

A few months later, Andy had settled back into anonymity, glad that his fifteen minutes of fame were well and truly over. He gave little thought to the fact one evening when he met a friend at a pub less than half a mile from White Hart Lane. He and his friend spent several hours in relaxed conversation, downing four pints each over the time. Therefore, he never clocked the five lads sitting in the corner looking over and pointing at him. It was also the reason why he didn’t notice those same men follow him out when he left the pub.

Having gone a few hundred metres and in sight of the tube station, five men caught up to and surrounded him. Seeing he was severely outnumbered, Andy quickly pleaded, “Look, I don’t want any trouble.”

The shortest of the five, who was a good seven inches shorter than Andy, retorted, “Oh you got trouble, mate! We know you’re the guy who fouled Felipe Fonsecca.”

“We told you we’d get you,” another one affirmed. “We’re the White Hart Lane Firm.”

Thinking quickly, Andy offered up, “Look, I apologised to Fonsecca and besides, I’ve retired from football.”

“That’s not good enough,” the short one snapped. “You thought you’d be a hero to all the birds because they didn’t want him playing after he shagged some slapper who then cried rape.”

Andy realised that whatever he said would not make any difference to this mob. So, he did the only thing possible; he attacked. Picking out the largest of the five, he landed a right cross on the target’s jaw, knocking him back and temporarily stunning him. Unfortunately that would be his only offensive move because unbeknown to him, one of the other four had secretly readied a lead pipe which he viciously clubbed Andy on the back with sending him forward and giving the others time to surround him and unleash a barrage of punched and kicks. After a few minutes and their victim sufficiently weakened, four of the mob grabbed Andy and held him still so the man with the pipe could smash his kneecap. When that was accomplished, the mob left their prey in a heap on the ground, barely conscious.

He was in hospital for three days before the local police came to interview him about the attack. Andy did his best to tell what happened and confessed that the attack was because of his foul on Fonsecca. One officer seemed sympathetic but his partner commented, “I thought you should have been charged for that tackle.” Andy also mentioned the threats he got from the White Hart Lane Firm. The two officers took everything down and informed him that they would be in touch.

During his five week stay in hospital, the police only returned twice. The first time, they brought their file of known members of the White Hart Lane Firm, which Andy identified the short guy. The second time was to inform him that the short guy had an alibi. He also learned that the police blocked the re-dramatisation of his attack on “Crimewatch” on the grounds that Andy’s notoriety may do more harm than good. That meant that when Andy finally did leave the hospital, there seemed little chance of his attackers ever being brought to justice. He now realised that while he never should have fouled Fonsecca the way he did but he didn’t deserve any of this.

Dodgy Tackle: Part 5

Tags

crime, Great Britain, soccer, sports

Hopes of a return to normality when the work week began that Monday morning were voided as soon as he walked through the front doors. Immediately, a pretty young secretary, not quite out of her teens rushed up to him throwing her arms around his neck and giving him a big kiss on the cheek. A middle aged female manager gave him a bear hug while whispering in his ear, “The women of Britain are proud of you.” His closest friend at the firm, Harry Tilsley, clapped him on the back while telling him, “You got Fonsecca good.” He then produced several copies of sports pages from the Sunday and Monday papers, including the one his girlfriend had shone him. Andy’s eyes momentarily lit up at the headline, “Fonsecca Crocked!” and “Just Desserts For A Rapist!” Even his boss told him how impressed he was with the tackle. Andy couldn’t help but feeling pleased with himself and thinking that he had done the country a great service.

He hoped the match was behind him when he reported for training on the Tuesday evening. Upon arrival, a teammate informed him that the manager wanted to see him in his office. Obediently, he went straight there thinking he was going to get a well deserved dressing down for his sending off.

Looking up at him, Manager Drury informed his midfielder, “The FA has suspended you pending a hearing.” Seeing Andy’s surprised look, he added, “We were beginning to dominate that match until you committed that foul and got sent off. Look, personally, I’m glad you got that Spanish thug but it cost us the match. You let the team down.” Andy couldn’t help but to agree with his manager.

While he tried his best to ignore the publicity gained from his tackle on Felipe Fonsecca during the nine days leading up to his hearing with the FA, it seemed to follow him everyhwere he went. Naturally, he had the backing of his family, friends, colleagues and teammates and several women’s groups applauded his courage for defending women, the media, on the other hand, were more divided.

Every newspaper, big and small, seemed to have an opinion on Andy’s foul. One columnist thanked him for doing to Fonsecca what everyone in the UK secretly wanted to do. Another agreed with his girlfriend’s father’s call for him to be knighted. Most, however, took the more neutral road by saying that they sympathised with his reasons but crippling Fonsecca was not the way to go about it. Of course, there were some columnists on the other side of the fence. One called Andy a bigger thug than Vinny Jones while another said he should be banned from football for life. The sports press all seemed to be against him.

Thoughts and emotions bounced around his head like a pinball as Andy went into his hearing with the Football Association. They didn’t lessen any when he stood before the FA Disciplinary Committee and only increased when they asked him why he did it. He wanted to be truthful but at the same time didn’t want to hang himself either. “A few minutes earlier, I cleanly took the ball off of him and he said something to me in Spanish. Whatever it was, it didn’t sound friendly,” he attempted to explain.

“Do you feel that Felipe Fonsecca should have been allowed back into football after his release from prison?” an unknown face on the committee asked him.

Again, Andy wanted to tell the truth without hanging himself. “I didn’t think he should have been allowed back in the game so easily,” he began. “After all, he committed a rape and hasn’t even apologised to his victim for what he put her through. I am genuinely sorry for the injury I caused to Felipe Fonsecca.”

He braced himself for the FA’ decision and hoped that his plea was enough to convince the committee to be lenient with him. When they returned an hour later, hoped that would be a good omen on his behalf. His heart missed a beat as the committee chairman announced the decision.

“You thought that brinigng down Fonsecca would make you some kind of hero in the media and the eyes of the nation. While we don’t condone what Felipe Fonsecca has done, he has served his time and it doesn’t give you or any other player the right to exact justice against him on the pitch. We will not tolerate vigilantes in football. Taking everything into account, the FA has decided to suspend you from football for a period of three months. This includes coaching or working in anyway with teams in the Football Association.”

Interest in Andy’s suspension lasted for only two days in the media and only for four on social media. Still, it was long enough for the White Hart Lane Firm to post on his wall, “The FA let you off lightly, we won’t.” Even the death threats subsided rather quickly. Instead, he concentrated his life outside of football. Most importantly, repairing his relationship with his girlfriend, Charlotte, which he did so well, that they got engaged four weeks later.

If it hadn’t been so much in the sports pages, most people would have never known about Fonsecca’s supposedly miraculous recovery. Having some of the best medical practitioners money could buy had a lot to do with it. What it meant was that on a typical Saturday afternoon in April at White Hart Lane, in the seventy-fifth minute and leading 3-0 against a team that was destined for relegation, Felipe Fonsecca stepped onto the pitch to a rapturous ovation. Those fifteen minutes he was on the pitch made little impact on the match but Tottenham fans were glad to see their hero back.

Andy’s ban ended two weeks later and he dutifully reported for training. Techincally, his first session back went well and all of his teammates were certainly glad to see him. In the one match he played, his game was clinically sound. He dominated the midfield just like he had done in the match against Spurs before he was sent off. He sent more than one perfect balls into the box and with two of those, Jason’s shot found the back of the net. However, when he made a clean sliding tackle against an opponent, stripping the ball off of him, the opposing player remarked, “Great tackle, but then again, I didn’t rape anyone.” He knew then something just didn’t feel right. His heart was no longer in the game, so after that match, Andy formally retired from football.

Dodgy Tackle: Part IV

Tags

books, crime, Great Britain, soccer, sports

Nobody said a word when Andy stated that he wouldn’t be joining the team in a comisseration piss up. Instead, he went home and spent a quiet evening at home. It was only out of routine that he turned on “Match of the Day” at 10:45 that night. Besides, he wanted to see how his beloved Liverpool fared in their third round cup match. He was completely unprepared for what was to come on the programme.

After Gary Lineker’s normal introduction of “Some cracking goals and exciting games,” he opened with the match he played in that day. “Tiny Epping Forest Utd were hoping for a giant kill against premiership side Tottenham,” Lineker began. “Let’s pick up the action from White Hart Lane.”

The millions watching the late night football programme got to see Fonsecca’s opening charge down the pitch aided by Lineker’s own commentary: “Fonsecca goes tearing down the pitch past the defense and looks like he’s going to put Spurs up in the very first minute but somehow, the Epping Forest keeper makes a miraculous save.”

It was a tremendous save, fair dues to that goalie,” the Scotsman on the commentary team affirmed.

Footage then skipped to later on in the first half with Lineker explaining, “It’s a very good ball in here and if it wasn’t for Spurs’ defender Ian Jones, getting his head on the ball to redirect it, it could have been disasterous for Spurs.”

Guest analyst Michael Owen described the next bit of footage. “Epping Forest get another great ball in, the striker hits it well and we see that Tottenham keeper Ernst Koernig is clearly beaten on the shot and it’s just unlucky that the shot just goes inches wide of the post.”

After a few replays of the closest Epping Forest Utd would come to scoring, Gary Lineker took back over the commentating. “Here’s Fonsecca, he dummies past one player and then we see another Epping Forest player slide in with this dangerous tackle on him.”

Sitting at home, Andy finally got to see his foul in its full glory. He couldn’t help but smile when he saw Fonsecca tumble head over bum and land on the ground writhing in obvious agony. Those few seconds of good feeling were interrupted by the Scotsman who interjected, “This was a gross deliberate foul on Fonsecca. I think this Epping Forest player was deliberately trying to injure Fonsecca here.” The foul was replayed at least eight times and for the first four times, the Scot pointed out, “You can see his leg is at least one foot off the ground and the bottom of his boot connects squarely with Fonsecca’s leg, just above the knee. There’s no doubt in my mind that this was a deliberate foul.”

Watching the remainder of the replays, the rest of the commentary team agreed with him. Michael Owen added after, “I think that with all the controversy surrounding Felipe Fonsecca’s return to football after serving time for rape, the fouler probably thinks he’s going to be some sort of hero.”

The elder statesman on the team, a noted football commentator, stated plainly, “No matter what Fonsecca has done off the pitch, there is no excuse for behaviour like this on it. The football pitch is not the place for vigilante justice.”

Trying to move things along, Gary Lineker commented, “We see the referee here showing the player in question, mid-fielder Andy Treharne, the red card and that sending off set the tone for the rest of the match.”

Andy didn’t know what to think when his picture was displayed to everyone in the country who was watching. He was having his fifteen minutes but wasn’t sure it was in a good way, not as far as the “Match of the Day” commentators were concerned. Andy switched off the television with out waiting for the Liverpool result.

Some unknown force compelled Andy to check his social media when he was wide awake the following Sunday morning. Upon opening his Facebook page, he shocked to see so many people had posted messages on his wall. Many were from ladies congratulating him for doing in the rapist. There were also a good number of men in agreement telling him he had done a great service to football. Of course, there were a few negative comments from angry Spurs supporters. Many called him a dirty player and some of those said he should be banned from football forever. Those didn’t bother him to much until he saw one that really disturbed him. It was from a group calling themselves the ‘White Hart Lane Firm.’ Their post read, “You might have gotten Fonsecca but we will get you. You’re a dead man!”

Thoughts about death threats against him didn’t last long. A knock at the door saw to that. He opened the door to a sight that made his jaw practically hit the ground. His girlfriend, who he hadn’t spoken to in two weeks following a row, was there with her long blonde hair hanging down. Her long brown coat was open to reveal a short, tight, blue dress. All he could do was stare.

“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” she asked.

Andy dithered for a further moment before opening the door wider and granting his visitor entry. She wasted no time in revealing her motivation for being there holding up a copy of a Sunday tabloid showing him the back page. The big headline read, “Unknown Vigilante Gets Fonsecca!” Underneath was the picture of his now infamous tackle. “My friend says you’re a hero among women and my father thinks you deserve a knighthood,” she declared.

“Oh thanks,” was all he could say. He didn’t need to say anymore. His girlfriend melted into his arms with the promise of reconciliation. It at least took his mind off the previous day’s match for the rest of the Sunday.

Dodgy Tackle Part 2

Tags

books, crime, Great Britain, rape, soccer, sports

For the players of non-league Epping Forest Utd, the Fonsecca story even filtered into their celebrations of having defeated League One side Port Vale 2-0 in the second round of the FA Cup. “He is a disgrace to football!” exclaimed the team’s captain with most of the team nodding in agreement.

“If it had been one of us, do you think they would have let us back into football so easily?” queried midfielder Andy Treharne.

The entire team also nodded in agreement with the man whom the Epping Forest team considered a key player. After all, it had been Treharne’s play that helped secure the stunning victory. Throughout the match, he thwarted every attempt by Port Vale’s midfield to get the ball up front to create any chances. Then it was his perfect pass that the led to the first goal for his side. Then, in a fairy tale ending, his cracking shot from twenty-two yards out ensured that his team would be progressing to the third round of the tournament. His performance and that of the rest of the team was enough to put talk of football playing rapists out of mind as the celebrations lasted well into the night.

Mixed feelings of wonder and astonishment, along with the fear that the small club had bitten off more than they could chew surfaced when it was announced that Epping Forest Utd would be playing Premiership side Tottenham Hotspur in the third round of the FA Cup. The sports media immediately began running stories of a David and Goliath battle. The Spurs manager stated that his team would take this match as seriously as they took all of their matches while the Forest manager humbly stated what a great opportunity this was going to be and he was hoping for a bigger giant kill. All that Andy Treharne could think about was whether Felipe Fonsecca would be playing for Spurs that day.

Fonsecca’s return sparked all of the contraversy everyone expected. Many women boycotted Spurs matches home and away. Opposing fans jeered him at away matches with chants of “rapist” and “criminal.” These acts only seemed to motivate him more as he scored three goals in his first five matches with his old club. In interviews, he thanked Tottenham management and supporters as well as the people of Great Britain for giving him a second chance. His demeanour, however, came across as arrogant. It was though he was sticking two fingers at the people of Britain and especially the woman he raped. It made Andy feel sick to his stomach.

Everyone with any sort of attachment to Epping Forest Utd, from players, to management and fans, all agreed that the FA Cup tie with Tottenham was going to be the biggest match in the team’s history. The atmosphere around their tiny ground reflected it. At home matches, the stands were full to capacity as newly found supporters came to cheer them on. In the weeks running up to the big tie, Epping Forest won three matches and drew one, climbing to the top of their division. There were even posters around the town wishing their team victory.

In the final days before the big match, the minnows focused their attention on the task ahead. Manager Steve Drury made sure that his troops were mentally prepared for the chance at history but this couldn’t keep the sour taste out of Andy’s mouth when it was confirmed that Fonsecca was going to be in the Spurs line up that day. He felt it was just wrong that the criminal would be on the same pitch as him and confirming in his mind everything that was wrong with football at the highest levels.

There were other distractions during the days leading up to the game but they were more pleasant ones. Normally empty stands at training sessions were now filled with well wishers wanting to see the team that was going up against Spurs. After training sessions, Andy and the rest of the team, found themselves signing autographs and posing for selfies with their new followers. Posters appeared in the windows of local businesses cheering the team on. Even at his own job in the City of London, fellow members of his firm wished him luck. All of this should have taken his mind off of Felipe Fonsecca.

I’m Sharing an Old Short Story With You- Dodgy Tackle Part 1

Tags

books, crime, rape, soccer

Since I have received quite a lot of positive feedback when I posted my most recent short story from my upcoming novel here, I thought I would share a past story from a few years back. This story called “Dodgy Tackle” was inspired by the Ched Evans affair. Evans was an British footballer who was convicted of rape and released after serving his sentence.

Dodgy Tackle

Many people throughout the UK, even those who couldn’t care less about football, were disgusted with the decision by top London club Tottenham Hotspur to allow convicted rapist Felipe Fonsecca to return to his old club after just serving two years in prison for the rape of an eighteen year old girl. There were strong outcries from women’s groups and many of the papers agreed with their sentiments. In fact, many people in the UK thought that the Spanish international should be sent back to his own country. Feelings were running very strong.

Fonsecca arrived in the UK five years prior at the age of twenty-one where he established himself on the pitch, scoring eighteen goals for the club in his first season. His continued great play the following season earned him a spot on Spain’s national team and Spurs fans were quick to forgive him when he scored the game winner against England in a friendly.

It was his performances off the pitch that gave some people concern. Rumours abounded of him acting inappropriately towards women and he was thrown out of a West End club for touching a young lady’s bottom. Furthermore, Fonsecca had a fiery temper as well, getting into a few drink filled altercations at a few night spots. One of these landed him in court and getting a £500 fine when he hit a man over the head with a bottle when the man confronted him over making a lewd comment about his girlfriend. While some remarked that Fonsecca had gotten off too lightly, little was said about it and as long as he kept kicking balls into the back of opposing team’s nets, no one was going to.

The rape, on the other hand, couldn’t be so easily ignored. Too many people saw Fonsecca approach the victim who was too drunk to agree to anything. The saw him guide the girl into a dark alley only for him to emerge triumphantly a few moments later. A good number of witnesses heard him boasting to his friends about how he gave her one. Fortunately, a good number also saw the girl come out of the alleyway moments later after Fonsecca had gone. The young lady was clearly looking distressed. Her tights were ripped and she was sobbing very heavily and holding her pants in her hand. Seeing the state she was in, a good Samaritan gave assistance and called the police.

Felipe Fonsecca was arrested and charged with rape. At his trial and in spite of his celebrity status and his barrister’s attempts to make the victim look like a cheap slut, he was convicted and sentenced to four years in prison. The evidence against him had been irrefutable. This did not stop his army of supporters ceaselessly campaigning to clear his name during his incarceration.

That wasn’t the worst of things, at least not for the victim. Someone discovered her identity and leaked it onto social media. The result was a savage hate campaign against her calling her a liar and a tart. In the end, she was forced to move far away and change her name, which made her a victim a second time around.

Now released on probation after just serving half of his prison term, Fonsecca was free to continue his football career. Tottenham management played the “everyone deserves a second chance” card but only Tottenham fans bought that one. Women’s groups were still up in arms and started an online petition to the club not to sign him. Others argued that he could continue his career back in Spain but the club ignored all of these and welcomed him back. Many opinions were being expressed and the topic wasn’t going to go away very quickly.