On Thursday Leyton Orient right-back Elliot Omozusi was sentenced to two and a half years in prison after being found guilty in his part of intimidating a witness.
He becomes the second Orient player in only two years to be banged up, after former-O's left-back Aidan Palmer was jailed for 22 months in 2009 for his part in a violent disorder.
As much as the details are fairly blurry, it sounds as if Omozusi was with a group of mates, who belong to the feared London Fields gang, when they were up in Liverpool. The London Fields gang was responsible for the killing of innocent schoolgirl Agnes Sina-Inajoku, for which two members of the gang were imprisoned for life last year. The gang, when in Liverpool, by chance saw one of the witnesses from the murder trial, who was part of a witness protection program - they chased him down the road, before he fortunately ran into police.
The trial of Omozusi concluded that he was part of the group and was found guilty of witness intimidation.
As a professional footballer, Omozusi is meant to be a role model, for fans, for children. A lot has been made recently of the importance for footballers to be good role models, but I sincerely think this is one of the biggest failures by a professional footballer through all your Tevez's, Terry's and Suarez's.
Prison. It's not somewhere you expect a professional footballer to end up. Which is why it's quite hard to make something of it.
I suppose it does show how footballers are not as invincible as they seem. It's baffling how when you are so focussed on playing for your club, all your time consumed on fitness, that you still have time to get involved in gang activities.
Of course, partly is just what group you fall into. Omozusi is originally from Hackney - he's got friends there, but unfortunately the wrong sort - and now he's paid for being part of it.
It's not to say I don't feel sorry for him - he's the same age as I am, and he was a bright footballer. Orient got him from Fulham, and he certainly had a future. But talk about being a professional, this is the exact opposite.
Who knows what the future may hold now for Omozusi - he's had a glorious chance to distance himself from gangland membership, but he didn't. Will he learn now? Or will he give up on football completely? For the sake of football and himself, I hope he returns.
Learning from others who've been in a similar position to him, Lee Hughes, someone I've seen a number of times over the last year, spent three years from 2004-07 after causing death by dangerous driving. He returned to football, and is currently putting his best in for Notts County, where he commands a huge amount of respect from the fans.
The aforementioned Palmer was released from prison and signed for Chelmsford City, who he scored for last weekend in their FA Cup game.
Both of these have shown there is life after prison for footballers, and I hope Omozusi can follow this example.
He becomes the second Orient player in only two years to be banged up, after former-O's left-back Aidan Palmer was jailed for 22 months in 2009 for his part in a violent disorder.
As much as the details are fairly blurry, it sounds as if Omozusi was with a group of mates, who belong to the feared London Fields gang, when they were up in Liverpool. The London Fields gang was responsible for the killing of innocent schoolgirl Agnes Sina-Inajoku, for which two members of the gang were imprisoned for life last year. The gang, when in Liverpool, by chance saw one of the witnesses from the murder trial, who was part of a witness protection program - they chased him down the road, before he fortunately ran into police.
The trial of Omozusi concluded that he was part of the group and was found guilty of witness intimidation.
As a professional footballer, Omozusi is meant to be a role model, for fans, for children. A lot has been made recently of the importance for footballers to be good role models, but I sincerely think this is one of the biggest failures by a professional footballer through all your Tevez's, Terry's and Suarez's.
Prison. It's not somewhere you expect a professional footballer to end up. Which is why it's quite hard to make something of it.
I suppose it does show how footballers are not as invincible as they seem. It's baffling how when you are so focussed on playing for your club, all your time consumed on fitness, that you still have time to get involved in gang activities.
Of course, partly is just what group you fall into. Omozusi is originally from Hackney - he's got friends there, but unfortunately the wrong sort - and now he's paid for being part of it.
It's not to say I don't feel sorry for him - he's the same age as I am, and he was a bright footballer. Orient got him from Fulham, and he certainly had a future. But talk about being a professional, this is the exact opposite.
Who knows what the future may hold now for Omozusi - he's had a glorious chance to distance himself from gangland membership, but he didn't. Will he learn now? Or will he give up on football completely? For the sake of football and himself, I hope he returns.
Learning from others who've been in a similar position to him, Lee Hughes, someone I've seen a number of times over the last year, spent three years from 2004-07 after causing death by dangerous driving. He returned to football, and is currently putting his best in for Notts County, where he commands a huge amount of respect from the fans.
The aforementioned Palmer was released from prison and signed for Chelmsford City, who he scored for last weekend in their FA Cup game.
Both of these have shown there is life after prison for footballers, and I hope Omozusi can follow this example.
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