Boris Becker Jailed For 2.5 Years.

[Guest]

20 minutes ago, PRESLEY said:

Better idea, send him to a quarry with a sledge hammer. 

I suppose you could have him be of some use working in a quarry, but training him up in the appropriate modern skills and working methods would be quite expensive and time-consuming, and he'd be less useful help and more potentially dangerous hindrance without those skills.

 

More sensible to have him try to make a valuable contribution to society doing something he's already skilled at, helping out those who traditionally don't have good access to sports coaching.

[Mr Bloke]

1 hour ago, Hecate said:

Becker is an arrogant idiot who thought he'd get away with it.  What a sad and sorry fall for such a talent (I remember watching that very first Wimbledon win).  But having him sit on his arse in prison for two plus years seems like a massive waste of an opportunity. 

 

Put him to work: two year, full time, hands-on tennis coaching in underfunded schools and youth groups. 

 

 

Hmmm...

I bet there's a few ball boys inside just waiting for him to give them a bit of coaching...

 

[PRESLEY]

1 hour ago, Hecate said:

I suppose you could have him be of some use working in a quarry, but training him up in the appropriate modern skills and working methods would be quite expensive and time-consuming, and he'd be less useful help and more potentially dangerous hindrance without those skills.

 

More sensible to have him try to make a valuable contribution to society doing something he's already skilled at, helping out those who traditionally don't have good access to sports coaching.

Doesn't take much skill to break rocks with a sledge hammer. 

[hauxwell]

The prison service is already overstretched.  When you hear stories of violent criminals and paedophiles being sent to prison for a few years to reduce the burden on the prison system it’s annoying.  

 

There are other ways of punishing Becker without sending him to prison.  He’s not a violent person but he is a fool and he does deserve to be punished.  I would have given him full time  community service and also put a tag on him if that’s not enough.

[Anna B]

2 hours ago, hauxwell said:

The prison service is already overstretched.  When you hear stories of violent criminals and paedophiles being sent to prison for a few years to reduce the burden on the prison system it’s annoying.  

 

There are other ways of punishing Becker without sending him to prison.  He’s not a violent person but he is a fool and he does deserve to be punished.  I would have given him full time  community service and also put a tag on him if that’s not enough.

I agree prison may not always be appropriate, but let's not forget that many people are sent to prison for debt or none payment of fines, etc. whose main crime is not having enough money to cope. They probably shouldn't be there either - they are hardly a threat to the public

 

And let's not forget the many people  who, like the post office workers imprisoned for fraud, were perfectly innocent and obviously so, if only the powers that be had taken the trouble to look harder at the 'evidence.' But of course these were the little people not worth the bother of proper investigation, because the prison system is 'overstretched.'

 

Boris Becker on the other hand, was thoroughly investigated, had the best, most expensive lawyers on his side, and still found guilty. So we can presume he is guilty. If it was considered appropriate for those others to be put in prison, then certainly so should Boris Becker be. 

Edited May 1, 2022 by Anna B

[Guest]

5 hours ago, PRESLEY said:

Doesn't take much skill to break rocks with a sledge hammer. 

The job's moved on a bit since 1962, I suspect.  As have pointless prison punishments since the 19th century.  And why give him a pointless task, or even a useful task in an area where he has no experience that could be done by someone with training looking for a job in that area? 

 

Put a tag on him, and have him in his trainers and trackie bottoms at 8 am every school morning working full time with PE staff as a coach at underfunded schools.  Look at junior inter-school competitions.  Look at coaching for talented children at schools in cities in the arse-end of nowhere, where appropriate coaching would be impossible.

 

Let him contribute something of worth in places where his skills might make a difference.  

[Mr Bloke]

30 minutes ago, Hecate said:

The job's moved on a bit since 1962, I suspect.  As have pointless prison punishments since the 19th century.  And why give him a pointless task, or even a useful task in an area where he has no experience that could be done by someone with training looking for a job in that area? 

 

Put a tag on him, and have him in his trainers and trackie bottoms at 8 am every school morning working full time with PE staff as a coach at underfunded schools.  Look at junior inter-school competitions.  Look at coaching for talented children at schools in cities in the arse-end of nowhere, where appropriate coaching would be impossible.

 

Let him contribute something of worth in places where his skills might make a difference.  

Hmmm...

On the surface, it sounds like a great idea, but...

... how many of these schools that you're speaking of will have facilities such as tennis courts?

And what happens if he does manage to motivate all these youngsters, and then the free coaching ends once he's served his time? (see what I did there?)

There's a lot more to think about than just showing someone how to hit a few balls with a racquet!

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Mr Bloke said:

Hmmm...

On the surface, it sounds like a great idea, but...

... how many of these schools that you're speaking of will have facilities such as tennis courts?

My school had a couple of tennis courts and I went to school on the Manor.  And all schools have PE facilities of some description and the ability to rig up a net.

 

2 minutes ago, Mr Bloke said:

And what happens if he does manage to motivate all these youngsters, and then the free coaching ends once he's served his time? (see what I did there?)

The aim would be to have him work in schools as part of a team: in PE lessons, and school teams, not for him to be shipped in as a superstar coach of future Wimbledon champions.  He might spot a few talented kids who would benefit from intensive coaching, but that's a potential bonus. 

 

Let him leave a legacy in schools of training skills and methods that can be kept in use after he's finished the programme.

 

2 minutes ago, Mr Bloke said:

There's a lot more to think about than just showing someone how to hit a few balls with a racquet!

I'm sure those professionals experienced in establishing prisoner work placement schemes would be able to listen to and coordinate with school sports and admin staff to come up with an appropriate plan or two.

[Nobby Stiles]

22 hours ago, West 77 said:

The man has clearly made mistakes in his life.  He will also have paid a great deal of tax in his life.  Hopefully when he is released from prison he will return to the commentary box.

God no! Have you heard his commentaries?

[El Cid]

15 hours ago, Hecate said:

Put a tag on him, and have him in his trainers and trackie bottoms at 8 am every school morning working full time with PE staff as a coach at underfunded schools.  Look at junior inter-school competitions.  Look at coaching for talented children at schools in cities in the arse-end of nowhere, where appropriate coaching would be impossible.

 

Let him contribute something of worth in places where his skills might make a difference.  

If the prison sentence was reduced to 12 months it would save the taxpayer over £60,000 in prison costs.