Rapist Football Star Released From Prison, Will He Play Again?

Should a convicted rapist who has served their time in prison be allowed to resume their old job? What if that job was as a high-profile football player? In the early hours of Friday, Ched Evans was released from a British prison - a Category C facility for sex offenders after serving half of a five-year sentence for raping a 19-year-old girl in a hotel room. He was the prized player of lower league English club Sheffield United, signed for £3 million ($4.8 million) in 2009.
Three years later, that privileged existence came to an abrupt end after the Wales International striker was found guilty of rape a conviction he denies.

He might have done the time, but not everyone believes Evans should be allowed to tie up his bootlaces and start scoring goals again, with almost 150,000 people signing a petition against his return to the League One team. "A lot of the backlash has been over the fact that he's not accepted his guilt, despite having served his sentence," lawyer and Football Association agent, Shehneela Ahmed, told CNN. "But where does it say that a convicted criminal, who has served their time, cannot go out to work?"

The Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, who is also an MP in Sheffield, said Evans' position as a role model for young boys needed to be taken into consideration by his future employers.

"He has done his time, but I just don't believe that the owners of a football club can somehow wish away the fact that that has happened," Clegg told LBC Radio. "You are taking on a role model, particularly for a lot of young boys who look up to their heroes on a football pitch in a team like that, and he has committed a very serious crime."

Source: CNN.com