I think we struggle to separate three distinct things

1) was he a good footballer? He was a great footballer for a while, and arguably failed to make the most of his talent. Why that was almost certainly had something to do with the attitudes of the times to point 2, although of course nobody can prove it was entirely the cause.

2) Justin as an (eventually openly) homosexual footballer. He was, and it’s quite disgusting the way that he was treated, and for that he should be applauded for having the bravery to come out, and be held up as an example of the damage homophobia can do to somebody.

3) Was he a “kiddie fiddler” as false Hendrikus alled him? Well. Although not convicted due to killing himself before he could be arrested and tried, there was apparently DNA to to prove that he had sex with a minor (17 years old), and the victim accused Fashanu of having drugged and raped him. Fashanu denied this in his suicide note. I find the term “kiddie fiddler” sensationalist and insinuating that he had sex with young children. Yes the guy was a minor in the US law, and so he had underage sex with a boy who in the U.K. today would have not been considered a minor.

But was he a racist? We can never know whether the truth was rape or fashanu’s version that it was consensual and then the guy wanted money.

I’d say it’s 50-50 and we will never know. But it seems to be accepted as fact that Fashanu raped him and I think this may be influenced by the fact that he was gay (sadly some people still connect the two) and also that he committed suicide - many ask why he would do that if he wasn’t guilty. Well, it may well have just been the straw the broke the camel’s back, knowing that in the Quaker-led town he was to be tried, he was almost certain to be found guilty, jailed, and ostracised for the rest of his life.

What we do know is that at the time of the alleged assault Justin wasn’t the most upstanding citizen. He’s been lying about his position at the professional football club for example, and doing quite a lot of drugs and alcohol. So no, he wasn’t a saint and shouldn’t be revered in all aspects of his life. But he was never convicted of rape or “kiddie fiddling”,, and what he went through because of his sexuality shouldn’t be brushed under the carpet because of the less than savoury aspects.

Posted By: Legacy Fan, Aug 23, 13:30:34