Bloody hell, Lou Vincent. That's not how it is supposed to go.
I was taken in context? I am sorry I offended everyone? I have not been misquoted?
You are supposed hire a public relations outfit (he probably did that one), spread the blame, optical illusions, corrupt cops, vindicated when others are also caught, my mother did it, the supplements did it, everyone does it, fall guy, scape goat, victim of rank injustice, weasel words, heavily legalled:
"My name is Lou Vincent and I am a cheat. I have abused my position as a professional sportsman on a number of occasions by choosing to accept money through fixing. I have shamed my country. I have shamed my sport. I have shamed those close to me. For that I am not proud. I lost faith in myself and the game. I abused the game I love."
And even this:
I do suffer from depression but it is absolutely no reason or excuse for all that I have done wrong.
Well, good on him for coming straight out with it rather than hiding behind all the usual bunkum as so many cheats do.
However, I'm fairly sure that whatever he got paid to underperform and a couple of IPL seasons worth of cash that he isn't going to be heading into the dole office anytime soon.
Posted by: Vindicate | Tuesday, July 01, 2014 at 07:55 PM
He would not have been paid enough to buy back his loss respect, self-esteem and the goodwill of his peers.
Posted by: Tony Tea | Tuesday, July 01, 2014 at 09:31 PM
Trust a kiwi to be blunt and cop it sweet. Funny how it is never mentioned how much money he got paid. Authorities must always know how much they get paid. Maybe he was embarrassed how little it was.
Posted by: gillysgone | Wednesday, July 02, 2014 at 09:43 AM
I'm guessing it was a fair amount, not a pittance. Regardless of how much it was some people are prepared to put a dollar figure on their self-respect and reputation.
Posted by: Vindicate | Wednesday, July 02, 2014 at 02:06 PM
The kicker is that they don't expect to get caught, so they don't think about the ramifications. If they are not caught, they are unlikely to offer up a juicy mea culpa. Would Vincent have laid it on the table had he not been sprung?
Posted by: Tony Tea | Wednesday, July 02, 2014 at 02:51 PM
Do we actually know precisely what he did? Was it a match fix or a spot fix or some other sneaky sting?
Posted by: Tony Tea | Wednesday, July 02, 2014 at 02:53 PM
It might not actually have been that much. Hansie Cronje threw a match/under-performed/got someone else to under-perform (can't quite remember) for a leather jacket, if I recall correctly. Some people just like the feel of cash, and/or are naturally reckless, self-destructive risk-takers. Vincent's depression will certainly have been a factor in that, despite his remarks to the contrary - feels crap about himself and his career, life seems meaningless, feels like he doesn't deserve to be happy because of poor self-image, is given the opportunity to prove that he's a "bad" person by doing bad things, feels worse by consequence, repeat. Potentially the same sort of process as juvenile crime from otherwise well-off kids, and/or self-harming.
Re: self-respect and self-esteem - this could actually be part of a vaguely AA-type atonement process and will actually make him feel better than you'd think. By admitting his mis-deeds he probably feels like he can move on from them, as opposed to ignoring and suppressing the fact that he was "that" guy.
Posted by: Carrot | Wednesday, July 02, 2014 at 08:46 PM
PS - just had a listen to some of the interview that's on cricinfo. It certainly doesn't look good for Chris Cairns, assuming that's the identity of the un-named "hero" - it could be anyone, but it's certainly an easy conclusion to draw given that we know he was playing ICL, too. That said, the ICL was a rebel league, and when they asked the ICC for help with fixing they were told to go jump. I'm sure that Lalit Modi's lawyer's will be interested if it's proven that Cairns was involved in any of that given the recent court case and settlement, but can you be banned for life and thrown out of the game for fixing matches in unsanctioned leagues? Interesting times.
Posted by: Carrot | Wednesday, July 02, 2014 at 11:58 PM
Eurgh, take out the apostrophe in "lawyers".
Posted by: Carrot | Thursday, July 03, 2014 at 12:13 AM
I could have told Lou Vincent: "this world was never meant for one as beautiful as you".
Posted by: m0nty | Thursday, July 03, 2014 at 05:41 PM
I would have thought Lou Bega was more his style.
Posted by: Tony Tea | Thursday, July 03, 2014 at 05:45 PM
m0nty. Genius.
Posted by: gillysgone | Friday, July 04, 2014 at 08:25 AM
m0nty, agreed with gillysgone, brilliant comment.
Posted by: Professor Rosseforp | Saturday, July 05, 2014 at 08:49 AM