A decade ago, while I was covering the death of Rangers and what Scottish football was going to do about Sevco, I met a mighty man.
His name was Turnbull Hutton.
On the steps of Hampden, he had spoken out for decency.
When we met in the bar of the George Hotel in Edinburgh, we had already put in many hours of chatting and sharing on the phone.
It was like meeting an old friend.
He even forgave that I was a non-drinker!
I thought that I met him halfway when I ordered a glass of red wine, but the Rovers man could’ve taught a master class on uisge-beatha.
The last time I spoke to him, he had just been admitted into the hospital.
That conversation will remain private, but I feared the worse.
It was a beautiful sunny day in Kirkcaldy in April 2015, when I completed my journey from the western shore of Ireland to sit in quiet respect for the man we were honouring.
In the crematorium, someone sat beside me, and I recognised that it was Neil Doncaster.
Immediately Turnbull’s voice was in my head, giving me a running commentary on the chief of the Scottish Premier League.
I struggled with cemetery giggles, and then came the awful realisation was that this was the only way that I would ever hear his voice again.
My next opponent was my tear ducts.
After Turnbull had been laid to rest, I spent the remainder of the afternoon with the Rovers family at a local hotel.
They all exuded quiet, stoic decency.
I travelled back to my island that day, content that I had paid my respects and offered my condolences to his family and friends.
I was reminded of all of this today as I walked up a bóithrín when the phone in my pocket demanded my attention.
A very well-placed source had called me about the David Goodwillie scandal.
Although he wanted to remain anonymous, he was happy to be quoted that “Turnbull would never have stood for this!”
Dear reader, the person is in a position to state that with some authority.
Moreover, I did not demur.
My source has an intimate knowledge of the topography of the Stark’s Park boardroom.
He was unequivocal that the decision on David Goodwillie was down to one person, the club Chairman John Sim.
My source said that although he was a non-dom in Thailand, it was his word that counted at the Fife club.
Consequently, he said that this entire debacle could only have one author.
This is the entry from the club’s website:
John Sim, Kirkcaldy born, is currently Global CEO at PKF International, the global network of legally independent accountancy firms having previously held senior roles within KPMG. Operating out of Thailand, John travels extensively in his present role but still is able to take in several matches each season. He played a key role in the change of ownership which occurred at the club in 2005 and is both a significant shareholder in our holding company and majority shareholder in the company which owns Stark’s Park.
For the avoidance of doubt, Mr Goodwillie is not a convicted criminal.
However, in 2017 in a landmark civil case, a judge found that, on the balance of probabilities, Goodwillie had raped Ms Denise Clair, who had waived her right to anonymity.
This piece in the Guardian from the time lays out the forensic details.
Dear reader, Ms Clair is the most important person in all of this.
She deserved better than this.
Then the statement from Raith Rovers seems to double down on the initial decision.
This prompted my source to get in touch with me today.
Raith Rovers have been approached for comment.
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Phil is right that Denise Clair is the only important individual here.
Sad events like these are often down to the way modern society regards sex – as a frivolous toy.
The flare up of this case has various troubling aspects however. Apparently Goodwillie had previously been playing for Clyde FC for 4 years, prior to joining Raith Rovers (and other teams before Clyde).
And so why has he only become a problem now? Is there perhaps an element of some people seeking to use this case as a vehicle for their own promotion?
The night of the events in question occurred over a decade ago now and courtroom proceedings have been done and dusted. Do we really now live in a society where an incident (of whatever nature) – which was not proven as a crime – now means a person is condemned for life? They can never redeem themselves, be forgiven or move on?
And while the court is correct that a person under the influence of alcohol cannot give consent: was Goodwillie also not under the influence of alcohol? Is this argument not saying that an intoxicated woman cannot be considered responsible for her actions, but yet an intoxicated men can be considered responsible for his?
There are certainly a few troubling aspects around all this. In any case, we wish Denis Clair well.
Complete and utter witch hunt going on in Scotland over this, and all the usual suspects, e.g FM, jumping on the bandwagon. A PF decided that there was insufficient evidence to justify proceeding with a prosecution. The lassie, to her credit, did not give up, and proceeded with a civil case, where the decision of the judge is on the balance of probabilities. She won, and was paid her damages, ergo that`s it done and dusted. The protagonists seem to be offended that, firstly, he has not shown remorse nor apologised (there is no requirement so to do, in law or otherwise, upon finding yourself on the wrong side of a civil judgement), and secondly, he is a role model for youngsters (would like to have seen a sample poll prior to yesterday amongst 10-20 year olds in Scotland to find how many had even heard of DG, never minded viewed him as a role model). Convicted criminals are allowed, nay encouraged, post sentence completion, to rehabilitate themselves back into society as best they can: are we really saying that he, having been on the wrong side of a decision requiring a lower level of proof should not be allowed to earn a living kicking a ball for the next few years as he`s done for the last 3 or 4, just because there`s a media frenzy being whipped up? Is that how you wish your lives to be governed, by the power of social media/PR, rather than the rule of law?
Rehabilitation requires contrition for the act, something Mr Goodwillie has never done.
Not according to the law…….and how do you know what he has said, or feels?
And do you pursue every offender to make sure that they won`t work again, or just ones that happen, for whatever reason, to have drifted into the public eye?
I’m sure there was shock and outrage then if I remember. He did get punished at the time but we can’t write everyone off without a crack at re-hab.
Think yer man would’ve been all through Goodwillie with a fine tooth comb before he decided if he was worth assisting in his career.
Cheers Phil
Further questionable content on the RRFC website ( albeit of a less emotive nature). The current CEO of PKF Intl is not in fact John Sim – but – Theo Vermaak – Appointed May 2020. https://www.pkf.com/news/network-news/pkf-international-appoints-theo-vermaak-as-interim-chief-executive-officer/
He is club chairman-as I wrote.
Not the CEO.
Phil, Goodwillie is indeed a convicted criminal.
Three separate convictions for assault, the most recent of which saw him placed on probation for 12 months.
He has a certain propensity for violence.