Scandal Former player suing AFL over racial abuse, sexual harassment

[Taylor]

oh the pain

That's why massive dicks aren't so great.

 

[Hellobill]

Would love to know how many so called 'hush money' arrangements Shine has been a party to.

IF they want to play hardball I hope they have advised their client that he could end up in a world of financial hurt if he loses.

that bloke kept saying hush money, buying silence blah blah, a journalist should have asked, ' do shine lawyers ever recommend their clients offer compensation with a confidentiality agreement attached"?

he was so trying to cash in on the ross lyon payout blacklash.

 

[Taylor]

that bloke kept saying hush money, buying silence blah blah, a journalist should have asked, ' do shine lawyers ever recommend their clients offer compensation with a confidentiality agreement attached"?

he was so trying to cash in on the ross lyon payout blacklash.

He was securing a win no matter what.

They settle outside of court, NDA signed, money paid and Wilkinson gets to look like he won and they had lots to hide.

 

[Scotland]

Heritier Lumumba 2.0

 

[Hellobill]

Heritier Lumumba 2.0

having Harry in his corner is a very bad move pr wise imo, loses credibility instantly

 

[Scotland]

Having seen this dude's press conference he comes across as a complete plonker. Looks and sounds like Harry O.

Nothing was 'taken from him', he just wasn't much good.

 

[Tbonefreo]

This guy is a w***er.

I gues that makes me a big old bigot.

 

[Black white]

Gerard Healy said the other night on 3aw, that he had never heard of anything like that happening in the changing rooms, he said maybe something went on up there that he was unaware of, i think he was referring to the gold coast, but i'm not sure.

 

[btdg]

Fans: "i don't know who this bloke is, what he endured, or the specific facts of the case. But he's black and accusing someone of racism. Flog."

Fair dinkum - at least let this play out before jumping on him. We don't yet know the extent of his claims about harassment. We do know that as a young man he had to twice experience public acts of racism and honestly I can't imagine how hard that would be to deal with, or what impact that would have on the motivation and workplace performance of a young man in a high stakes environment. From the sounds of things, at best he didn't get the public support he wanted at the time, and his feelings were exacerbated by the 'banter' of his team mates, supposedly his closest allies. At worst, his own team mates and/or club engaged in casual racism and harassment that literally made him feel unwelcome

I'm surprised no one has accused him of staging for free kicks, to be honest...

 

[Blue1980]

Fans: "i don't know who this bloke is, what he endured, or the specific facts of the case. But he's black and accusing someone of racism. Flog."

Fair dinkum - at least let this play out before jumping on him. We don't yet know the extent of his claims about harassment. We do know that as a young man he had to twice experience public acts of racism and honestly I can't imagine how hard that would be to deal with, or what impact that would have on the motivation and workplace performance of a young man in a high stakes environment. From the sounds of things, at best he didn't get the public support he wanted at the time, and his feelings were exacerbated by the 'banter' of his team mates, supposedly his closest allies. At worst, his own team mates and/or club engaged in casual racism and harassment that literally made him feel unwelcome

I'm surprised no one has accused him of staging for free kicks, to be honest...

It’s just none of it adds up, when there are numerous players of colour who have played and continue to play at Gold Coast.

Only reason I can see him being treated differently is because he comes across as a flog.

Can’t wait for the age article decrying toxic racism in the afl and of all Australians in general.

 

[Tbonefreo]

Fans: "i don't know who this bloke is, what he endured, or the specific facts of the case. But he's black and accusing someone of racism. Flog."

Fair dinkum - at least let this play out before jumping on him. We don't yet know the extent of his claims about harassment. We do know that as a young man he had to twice experience public acts of racism and honestly I can't imagine how hard that would be to deal with, or what impact that would have on the motivation and workplace performance of a young man in a high stakes environment. From the sounds of things, at best he didn't get the public support he wanted at the time, and his feelings were exacerbated by the 'banter' of his team mates, supposedly his closest allies. At worst, his own team mates and/or club engaged in casual racism and harassment that literally made him feel unwelcome

I'm surprised no one has accused him of staging for free kicks, to be honest...

Can you give me an example of "casual racism"

 

[btdg]

Can you give me an example of "casual racism"

Casual racism generally involves stereotypes based on race, ethnicity or religion. The people doing it generally don't see their race/ethnicity/religion as superior, and aren't overtly trying to be racist, but it could involve making 'friendly' jokes at people's expense, the use of stereotypes in conversation, or even sub-conscious gestures and body language.

Examples off the top of my head (trying to draw from recent/prominent ones):
- dressing in blackface for a party
- making jokes about stereotypes, even positive ones
- crossing the street to avoid someone of a different background who 'looks a bit dodgy'
- asking someone who isn't white 'Where is your family from?'

In most cases, the person responsible isn't trying to degrade or cause offence, but does so unintentionally. Could also be the sort of thing that some might lable 'PC gone mad'. But these things do have an impact on making others feel uncomfortable, isolated, different, and excluded - which can really impact on them.

 

[Ron The Bear]

Fans: "i don't know who this bloke is, what he endured, or the specific facts of the case. But he's black and accusing someone of racism. Flog."

Fair dinkum - at least let this play out before jumping on him. We don't yet know the extent of his claims about harassment. We do know that as a young man he had to twice experience public acts of racism and honestly I can't imagine how hard that would be to deal with, or what impact that would have on the motivation and workplace performance of a young man in a high stakes environment. From the sounds of things, at best he didn't get the public support he wanted at the time, and his feelings were exacerbated by the 'banter' of his team mates, supposedly his closest allies. At worst, his own team mates and/or club engaged in casual racism and harassment that literally made him feel unwelcome

I'm surprised no one has accused him of staging for free kicks, to be honest...

Maybe some people are so preoccupied by their own perceived disadvantage that they fail to achieve their goals and end up blaming "the system".

 

[Saintly Viewed]

There is hush money payments?

There is scream very loud money payments?

 

[btdg]

Maybe some people are so preoccupied by their own perceived disadvantage that they fail to achieve their goals and end up blaming "the system".

Maybe. Or maybe people actually face real disadvantage, real discrimination, and 'the system' needs to change?

Or, maybe, just maybe, we should listen to the perspectives of others and try to empathise with them. And perhaps, had the AFL and Gold Coast done a better job of this, they wouldn't be facing a court case in front of the human rights commission... nor would racism still be an issue 25 years after Nicky Winmar

 

[Cold Sober]

No tackling, no barracking, no smoking, no duck shooting, no speeding, no alcohol, no Humphrey Bear, no King Billy Coke Bottle, no thinking for yourself, NO BALLS, get over it, get a haircut, get a job and EARN the money..........SORRY, ME TOO.

 

[Ron The Bear]

Maybe. Or maybe people actually face real disadvantage, real discrimination, and 'the system' needs to change?

Or, maybe, just maybe, we should listen to the perspectives of others and try to empathise with them. And perhaps, had the AFL and Gold Coast done a better job of this, they wouldn't be facing a court case in front of the human rights commission... nor would racism still be an issue 25 years after Nicky Winmar

Listen to the language used... “My career was taken from me”. The guy believed he had a god-given right to be a sports star, and reality bit him on the arse. Several times.

It’s not exactly the 1930’s when Doug Nicholls was run out of Carlton. If I’m an employer, I see a bloke who finds it hard to get along with others, and hard to cope with not getting what he wants. Legal or not, I’m not taking the risk.

 

[Gralin]

H needs to work on his public speaking when he finishes 6th in the Copeland... and engagements with the Dalai Lama and requests for POTUS in that case Obama

#trancendenthubris now folks grow hair braids, channel Malcolm X MLK & Colin Kapaernick... pity that these AFL players are professional footballers and not professional social justice warriors... some rigour and intellect would go a ways...

#brinkmanship on the hashtagged shoulders of #me2 and #blacklives matter. Tabular rasa authenticity, I doubt

you are very close to a thread ban, discuss the topic properly or go away

 

[FRUMPY]

This will happen more and more. Make an accusation about sexual/racial discrimination. The accused will settle for a pay out as so save the tarnish of being accused of such acts (even when innocent).

Cheaper to settle out of court than pay legal fees even when innocent.

Reports this guy has already asked for $2m to settle and afl will eventually find a figure both will agree too.

Then amazingly his grieving will disappear

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

[btdg]

Listen to the language used... “My career was taken from me”. The guy believed he had a god-given right to be a sports star, and reality bit him on the arse. Several times.

It’s not exactly the 1930’s when Doug Nicholls was run out of Carlton. If I’m an employer, I see a bloke who finds it hard to get along with others, and hard to cope with not getting what he wants. Legal or not, I’m not taking the risk.

All right then, try to think about it from his perspective. Let's see if we can figure out WHY he feels this way. All hypothetical of course, but based on what is public knowledge so far:

Bloke moves to Australia as a kid, from Nigerian background. Grows up in a country where 'African' is code in the newspapers for all sorts of negative things, probably doesn't have a day go by as a kid where he isn't made aware of how different he is. Kid does the right thing - he looks around him, takes inspiration from other black people who are successful that he can see in this country (who are pretty much all sports people, with a few musicians thrown in too), and puts his effort into sports. Becomes a champion runner, plays several different sports, then sets his sights on playing footy professionally. Works his butt off, year after year, and finally, he makes it... he's a true success story so far.

And then, when he enters the footy club... its not what he had hoped. Not the professional, elite environment where colour doesn't matter, but its just more of the same. From day one, the blokes around him constantly draw attention to his colour, making inappropriate (sexual) jokes about him. But its all just banter, and he's seen it before, so he puts up with it, puts his head down, keeps working. Gets his chance to play his first game, steps on the field to live his dream... and cops a racial barrage from an opponent. Walks away feeling disillusioned.

Now, he sees the AFL respond. Sherman cops a 4-week ban, and is made out to be the bad guy, followed by the obligatory teary apology, and then 4 weeks later he's back on field and running around like nothing happened. Team-mates of Sherman make it all about themselves, call him, all hand-wringing and we're sorry and we don't know how he could do it. The AFL blames Sherman, makes out like racism is evil. And Wilkinson? Suddenly, instead of preparing for his next game, he's dragged along to a mandatory 'conciliation' session so Sherman can apologise face to face, and having to deal with all this attention. He's copping it on social media from the usual dickheads because he's now a target. Maybe he's offered counselling, like... he's damaged or something. The illusion that footy will be a place where he can excel based on his talent and his race won't be an issue is gone - now he knows, no matter who he is or what he does, he'll always be 'black'. And through it all, no-one really asks or listens to what he wants. No-one really asks how a 26 year-old opponent could have made it through 7-8 years in the AFL system and still think it appropriate to racially abuse an 18 year-old playing his first game.

Of course, he's pretty down about this, but persists. Yet suddenly, those 'jokes' his team-mates are making bite just a little bit more. To him, its pretty clear how Sherman came to think racial abuse was ok - because no-one confronts any of this stuff. So he's a bit down on motivation, but still he persists. Of course, its a pretty tough business, his team are a joke on-field and a bit of a mess off-field, so no-one really helps him deal with what is now a festering issue. A year or so later, he cops more racial abuse from fans. Once again, the AFL reacts, blames the attacker, never really confronts the issue of why this sort of thing keeps happening to a 19 year-old. Again, he's dragged out into the public spotlight, his interests not really looked out for, his attention taken away from his footy and on to his race. At this point, he's feeling a bit down about things, and that original dream that sustained all that effort is waning a bit...

Then year 3 comes around - maybe he does suck it up, puts his effort in. Still only 21 at this point, plenty of room to grow, etc. About half-way through the year the Goodes stuff happens. He sees a champion of the game, perhaps someone he idolised growing up, stand up for racism and... cop it from all sides. Club presidents make racist jokes about him and laugh it off. Goodes, a dual brownlow medallist and all-time great is reduced to a 'flog', told to shut up and stop complaining, victim-blamed for standing up to racism. Now he's really feeling miserable about things. The jokes and laughter in the change-rooms are a constant reminder of how inescapable his race is in this world, and he's finding it impacting on his performance.

At the end of the year, he gets delisted. He packs up ship, moves to Melbourne, ends up at the Northen Blues, who are just as much of a rabble, with even less support for players than GCS. Same casually racist comments from people around him, only now he's away from home, playing second-tier footy and over the next few months the dream just dies... His manager or someone around him suggests the NFL - hey, he's still young, great athleticism, what does he have to lose. So he gives up on the AFL dream and heads overseas for a shot at something else.

Can you really blame him for feeling the way he does about his career? That maybe if he hadn't had to deal with all that crap, that maybe if the AFL had responded differently, he might have had a better shot?

 

[MrKK]

All right then, try to think about it from his perspective. Let's see if we can figure out WHY he feels this way. All hypothetical of course, but based on what is public knowledge so far:

Bloke moves to Australia as a kid, from Nigerian background. Grows up in a country where 'African' is code in the newspapers for all sorts of negative things, probably doesn't have a day go by as a kid where he isn't made aware of how different he is. Kid does the right thing - he looks around him, takes inspiration from other black people who are successful that he can see in this country (who are pretty much all sports people, with a few musicians thrown in too), and puts his effort into sports. Becomes a champion runner, plays several different sports, then sets his sights on playing footy professionally. Works his butt off, year after year, and finally, he makes it... he's a true success story so far.

And then, when he enters the footy club... its not what he had hoped. Not the professional, elite environment where colour doesn't matter, but its just more of the same. From day one, the blokes around him constantly draw attention to his colour, making inappropriate (sexual) jokes about him. But its all just banter, and he's seen it before, so he puts up with it, puts his head down, keeps working. Gets his chance to play his first game, steps on the field to live his dream... and cops a racial barrage from an opponent. Walks away feeling disillusioned.

Now, he sees the AFL respond. Sherman cops a 4-week ban, and is made out to be the bad guy, followed by the obligatory teary apology, and then 4 weeks later he's back on field and running around like nothing happened. Team-mates of Sherman make it all about themselves, call him, all hand-wringing and we're sorry and we don't know how he could do it. The AFL blames Sherman, makes out like racism is evil. And Wilkinson? Suddenly, instead of preparing for his next game, he's dragged along to a mandatory 'conciliation' session so Sherman can apologise face to face, and having to deal with all this attention. He's copping it on social media from the usual dickheads because he's now a target. Maybe he's offered counselling, like... he's damaged or something. The illusion that footy will be a place where he can excel based on his talent and his race won't be an issue is gone - now he knows, no matter who he is or what he does, he'll always be 'black'. And through it all, no-one really asks or listens to what he wants. No-one really asks how a 26 year-old opponent could have made it through 7-8 years in the AFL system and still think it appropriate to racially abuse an 18 year-old playing his first game.

Of course, he's pretty down about this, but persists. Yet suddenly, those 'jokes' his team-mates are making bite just a little bit more. To him, its pretty clear how Sherman came to think racial abuse was ok - because no-one confronts any of this stuff. So he's a bit down on motivation, but still he persists. Of course, its a pretty tough business, his team are a joke on-field and a bit of a mess off-field, so no-one really helps him deal with what is now a festering issue. A year or so later, he cops more racial abuse from fans. Once again, the AFL reacts, blames the attacker, never really confronts the issue of why this sort of thing keeps happening to a 19 year-old. Again, he's dragged out into the public spotlight, his interests not really looked out for, his attention taken away from his footy and on to his race. At this point, he's feeling a bit down about things, and that original dream that sustained all that effort is waning a bit...

Then year 3 comes around - maybe he does suck it up, puts his effort in. Still only 21 at this point, plenty of room to grow, etc. About half-way through the year the Goodes stuff happens. He sees a champion of the game, perhaps someone he idolised growing up, stand up for racism and... cop it from all sides. Club presidents make racist jokes about him and laugh it off. Goodes, a dual brownlow medallist and all-time great is reduced to a 'flog', told to shut up and stop complaining, victim-blamed for standing up to racism. Now he's really feeling miserable about things. The jokes and laughter in the change-rooms are a constant reminder of how inescapable his race is in this world, and he's finding it impacting on his performance.

At the end of the year, he gets delisted. He packs up ship, moves to Melbourne, ends up at the Northen Blues, who are just as much of a rabble, with even less support for players than GCS. Same casually racist comments from people around him, only now he's away from home, playing second-tier footy and over the next few months the dream just dies... His manager or someone around him suggests the NFL - hey, he's still young, great athleticism, what does he have to lose. So he gives up on the AFL dream and heads overseas for a shot at something else.

Can you really blame him for feeling the way he does about his career? That maybe if he hadn't had to deal with all that crap, that maybe if the AFL had responded differently, he might have had a better shot?

His main beef seems to be that his complaints to the Suns and the AFL were ignored, but then you're surmising that the AFL did wrong by making a big deal of how unacceptable the public incidents were ie the exact opposite of ignoring the problem. What do you propose they should've done?

 

[btdg]

His main beef seems to be that his complaints to the Suns and the AFL were ignored, but then you're surmising that the AFL did wrong by making a big deal of how unacceptable the public incidents were ie the exact opposite of ignoring the problem. What do you propose they should've done?

Honestly - I don't know. If there was an easy fix, it would have been done by now.

I'm just trying to see things from his perspective

I may have misinterpreted his comments, but my sense was that he felt that the AFL had attacked Sherman (and the spectators) in a public manner, without addressing the underlying, low-level stuff that sets the scene for the bigger stuff. So he feels the AFL pretended to be tough on racism by publicly scape-goating Sherman and the spectators, but actually ignored the low-level, everyday stuff that in the end really got to him (or exacerbated the 'big' incidents).

Maybe its a case where the AFL couldn't have done anything more in those public cases? That's one of the big issues with this sort of thing. Victims cop it twice - once from their abuser, and once from the 'solution'. All the AFLs actions to prevent/address Sherman's behaviour also impacted on Wilkinson, who was the victim.

Can we all agree that he shouldn't have been racially abused in his workplace, by players or spectators, and that even casual abuse from team-mates/co-workers constitutes harassment, which forms the basis of his claim. We know that racial/sexual harassment has a really significant impact on people to the detriment of their careers - yet we expect somehow footballers can rise above it, despite that being a far more competitive and high-stakes environment than almost any other workplace

What concerns me more is the response from so many footy fans, who are attacking him, with almost none supporting or even attempting to empathise with him. His concerns are being ignored and written off by the public as a cash grab, which just seems totally disingenuous. You couldn't watch him speak last night and not believe that he is at least earnest in his perception that racial/sexual harassment impacted on his career.

 

[Ron The Bear]

All right then, try to think about it from his perspective. Let's see if we can figure out WHY he feels this way. All hypothetical of course, but based on what is public knowledge so far:
...

Far too much supposition in there to address each point individually. But I put it to you... if you're new to a sporting club, is it up to everyone else at the club to accommodate what may be your quirks and sensitivities, or is the onus on you to fit in and make a go of it? And I'm not talking about a situation where the culture of the club is so offensive as to make this expectation unreasonable.

As for his stint at the Northern Blues, I've been unable to find a record of any grievances.

You seem to be critical of the AFL's handling of racial abuse. Wilkinson's was the first case for 12(?) years. The AFL's policies in this area have been very effective, but they can only go so far. They can keep it off the field but they cannot change public behaviour or tell the public what to think (even though they sometimes appear to be trying). Yet Wilkinson alleges they are guilty of "extreme racism" - not only during his career but "until this very day". Can only assume he has interpreted the AFL's reluctance to entertain his claims as "extreme racism".

Yeah, I understand he's upset and believe his feelings of persecution are real. But that doesn't necessarily mean anyone did anything gravely wrong.

I expect Gold Coast will be required to spell out in excruciating detail why he was delisted, and that's if it goes anywhere. The case was going to be lodged today, or Monday. They weren't sure.

 

[Boxhead_31]

Would love to know. Is this the first time anyone has sued the AFL due to their lack of talent seeing them be delisted?

 

[JackFlash]

All right then, try to think about it from his perspective. Let's see if we can figure out WHY he feels this way. All hypothetical of course, but based on what is public knowledge so far:

Bloke moves to Australia as a kid, from Nigerian background. Grows up in a country where 'African' is code in the newspapers for all sorts of negative things, probably doesn't have a day go by as a kid where he isn't made aware of how different he is. Kid does the right thing - he looks around him, takes inspiration from other black people who are successful that he can see in this country (who are pretty much all sports people, with a few musicians thrown in too), and puts his effort into sports. Becomes a champion runner, plays several different sports, then sets his sights on playing footy professionally. Works his butt off, year after year, and finally, he makes it... he's a true success story so far.

And then, when he enters the footy club... its not what he had hoped. Not the professional, elite environment where colour doesn't matter, but its just more of the same. From day one, the blokes around him constantly draw attention to his colour, making inappropriate (sexual) jokes about him. But its all just banter, and he's seen it before, so he puts up with it, puts his head down, keeps working. Gets his chance to play his first game, steps on the field to live his dream... and cops a racial barrage from an opponent. Walks away feeling disillusioned.

Now, he sees the AFL respond. Sherman cops a 4-week ban, and is made out to be the bad guy, followed by the obligatory teary apology, and then 4 weeks later he's back on field and running around like nothing happened. Team-mates of Sherman make it all about themselves, call him, all hand-wringing and we're sorry and we don't know how he could do it. The AFL blames Sherman, makes out like racism is evil. And Wilkinson? Suddenly, instead of preparing for his next game, he's dragged along to a mandatory 'conciliation' session so Sherman can apologise face to face, and having to deal with all this attention. He's copping it on social media from the usual dickheads because he's now a target. Maybe he's offered counselling, like... he's damaged or something. The illusion that footy will be a place where he can excel based on his talent and his race won't be an issue is gone - now he knows, no matter who he is or what he does, he'll always be 'black'. And through it all, no-one really asks or listens to what he wants. No-one really asks how a 26 year-old opponent could have made it through 7-8 years in the AFL system and still think it appropriate to racially abuse an 18 year-old playing his first game.

Of course, he's pretty down about this, but persists. Yet suddenly, those 'jokes' his team-mates are making bite just a little bit more. To him, its pretty clear how Sherman came to think racial abuse was ok - because no-one confronts any of this stuff. So he's a bit down on motivation, but still he persists. Of course, its a pretty tough business, his team are a joke on-field and a bit of a mess off-field, so no-one really helps him deal with what is now a festering issue. A year or so later, he cops more racial abuse from fans. Once again, the AFL reacts, blames the attacker, never really confronts the issue of why this sort of thing keeps happening to a 19 year-old. Again, he's dragged out into the public spotlight, his interests not really looked out for, his attention taken away from his footy and on to his race. At this point, he's feeling a bit down about things, and that original dream that sustained all that effort is waning a bit...

Then year 3 comes around - maybe he does suck it up, puts his effort in. Still only 21 at this point, plenty of room to grow, etc. About half-way through the year the Goodes stuff happens. He sees a champion of the game, perhaps someone he idolised growing up, stand up for racism and... cop it from all sides. Club presidents make racist jokes about him and laugh it off. Goodes, a dual brownlow medallist and all-time great is reduced to a 'flog', told to shut up and stop complaining, victim-blamed for standing up to racism. Now he's really feeling miserable about things. The jokes and laughter in the change-rooms are a constant reminder of how inescapable his race is in this world, and he's finding it impacting on his performance.

At the end of the year, he gets delisted. He packs up ship, moves to Melbourne, ends up at the Northen Blues, who are just as much of a rabble, with even less support for players than GCS. Same casually racist comments from people around him, only now he's away from home, playing second-tier footy and over the next few months the dream just dies... His manager or someone around him suggests the NFL - hey, he's still young, great athleticism, what does he have to lose. So he gives up on the AFL dream and heads overseas for a shot at something else.

Can you really blame him for feeling the way he does about his career? That maybe if he hadn't had to deal with all that crap, that maybe if the AFL had responded differently, he might have had a better shot?

It all depends on what career you're referring too..Let's take a look at "his career" in sports. It's no coincidence that some five years later he's taking a swipe at the AFL because of his failure to make it big in Sport, it's also perfect timing to do this right in the middle of the season! Teammates have racially vilified him? It should be a very interesting case. He is de-listed and retires from the game seeking out a career with the NFL in America. As a schoolboy he excelled in athletics, represented the Gold Coast in cricket, soccer and tennis. Boredom sets in.

In 2008, still a teenager he grew tired of the sports he had already tried and began playing Australian rules football. He joins Gold Coast from 2011-2013 and after just three seasons he quits and flies off to the States looking for fame and fortune. Interestingly, during his AFL career he traveled to Arizona on three separate occasions from 2011-13 for off-season training and was a standout in the high altitude drills. You can't blame anyone at Gold Coast who may have questioned his commitment? “I just knew that American sport was the Everest of world sports,” Wilkinson said.
Whoever suggested the NFL to him, did so while he was at the Gold Coast, not the Northern Blues. AFL was just a stepping stone for this sports star, but it was persistent hamstring injuries that thwarted his ambitions in America. They have very little patience over there.

It looks very much like he was restless at everything he's tried? Now, with no career anywhere currently, this looks like opportunism to me, is this all occurring because none of his ambitions have come to any real fruition? He is only 26. What is really going on here?.
It sounds like a washed-up opportunist shilling for attention. This case will go nowhere.