By Sammie Jones
Cover ups are common among any organisations. Respected organisations are always expected to investigate a complaint properly and honourably, but they cannot be trusted to do so. The revelations of cover ups in footall are not the first of its kind. They have occured for decades in various forms by different organisations.
Those in power will always try to protect their own especially where reputations can be affected and irreversibly tarnished. Ultimately, the complianant has to decide how far they want to ensure their complaint is heard and reported, instead of being successfully covered up. We had the allegations of historucal sex abuse by some Mp’s last year, but that was allegedly covered up and never really got far. Unfortunate as that is, it would have been too painful and shocking if any evidence had emerged to confirm that Mp’s had commited sexual abuse at anytime . One of the worst cover ups of all time was that of the BBC when Jimmy Saville used his celebrity status to commit unthinkable atrocities.
Police cover ups are one of the most commonly known, although even those kind of cover ups have their limitations. Several instances of police officers being prosecuted confirm that nobody in principle is above the law, but there are many more cases in which internal police cover ups have suceeded without trace. It beggars belief that established officials in football woud have conspired to help a predatorial paedophile escape full punishment just because of who they are. The instinct and conviction to see wrong doing punished should be an automatic element of all decent human beings in an ideal world. That would be a utopia because this world is far from ideal, mainly because of powerful individuals devoid of the strength of character to always implement the correct procedures to deal with issues appropriately.
Organisations with integrity are also in abundance n the UK and abroad, but those that will go against afamiliar colleague or acquaiantnce on matters of principle are few and far between. Money and image are usually the predominant driving force in deciding whether to ensure certain personalities are punished for their offences. In many cases, individuals in leadership positions are locked in a common and mutual network of friends and business associates with the accused, that they are every apprehensive of potential repercussions if they press ahead with punitive measures. The initiative to push a complaint to the highest point desired has to rest on the victim of wrongdoing .
In the case of Tony Brien, who was made to visualise chants or teases that could result from reporting the sexual abuses he had falling victim to, the young player at the time and his mother obviously decided to honour the suggestion of Taylor. They could have decided to express their concerns of teasing to the police, who may have offered the player victim protection. As a teenager, he may not have been knowledgeable enough to imagine the existence of victim protection, but his concern is one that could have been shared with the police. Cover ups have always and will always exist in multifarious fraternities, but most important will always be the steps the complainant decide to take to overcome the cover up being oursued.