Sex clip was no joke

Sex clip was no joke

King Power and the Tourism Authority of Thailand should examine their responsibility for this degrading incident.

How stupid do you have to be in 2015 to record yourself on your mobile phone doing something illegal? Perhaps not so very stupid after all. Three English professional football players made a video of themselves during a sex orgy with Thai women in Bangkok last week. It was given straight to a British newspaper, and the contents are now known and can be viewed worldwide. The racist, humiliating treatment handed to the women is grounds for dismissal by any decent business.

Excruciating details of the actual video have been widely published. They need not be recalled here. It is enough to say the behaviour of the Leicester employees is a serious matter. No one deserves the degrading actions the three men handed out.

Sex workers are workers, and protected by the same laws and rules that apply everywhere. The incident on the video must be dealt with, publicly and openly, by team owners, sponsors and club officials.

Those team owners are the Thai billionaires Vichai and Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, the father and son team that owns and operates King Power, the duty-free company. The King Power logo sits in pride of place on the face of the team's home stadium, and on the players' shirts, which the owners sell at a highly profitable 2,325 baht for the cheapest replica. The main sponsor of the team is the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). Its official slogan, "Amazing Thailand", is on the back of every team jersey.

The team owners are the actual employers of the three men involved. Mr Vichai and Mr Aiyawatt have a special duty to fans of the team and all Thais, to explain and deal with the behaviour of their employees. The TAT must seriously consider its connection with the team - and tell the public what it decides and why.

Another question concerns how the women turned up at the men's hotel room. Were they "supplied" as part of the verbal or even written contract of the team's tour? It would not be the first time of course, but perhaps King Power can agree it should be the last.

The Leicester club has issued an apology of sorts, which falls far short of addressing what happened. "Sorry" and "regret" are easy to say. The team cannot be taken seriously in this matter until it investigates in depth, which it promises to do. Sending "the boys" home from Leicester City's summer tour is less than no punishment. Further action is needed, urgently and in public.

First and most importantly, Leicester City Football Club employs no boys as players and so the excuse of "boys will be boys" cannot fly. Tom Hopper, James Pearson and Adam Smith are all of legal age, and fully responsible for their actions, far beyond an apology, which they did not even give before they left Thailand.

The Leicester team manager is Nigel Pearson, father of James. The elder Mr Pearson is a patron and outspoken supporter of the English campaign "Show Racism the Red Card". His own reputation has been exemplary. Until now. Perhaps he is a bad father, or he may have a dullard offspring incapable of understanding his own dad's goals and works.

Professional sports is barely starting to come to grips with racism. Many of its fans still tolerate and even encourage the macho behaviour that leads players to abuse others. In this, much of the sports world is miles behind society as a whole. Leicester City, King Power and the TAT will soon show how responsive they are to this sad state of affairs.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT (8)