DON’T BUY THE S*N: HATE-FUELED EDITORIAL ON CELTIC IS A TIMELY REMINDER
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- Apr 3
- 3 min read
Yesterday, I took the tough decision to write an opinion piece on the Celtic Boys Club Settlement. I honestly didn't want to, but given the gravity of the situation, I felt I had to.
I did my best to write something balanced, honest and most of all, respectful to the victims and their families. I'll leave it to you, the readers, to judge whether I achieved this.
Today, Bill Leckie, writing for The S*n decided to take that respect, that balance, and throw it right out the window.
In an article absolutely dripping with venom Leckie could barely conceal his glee as he basked in the reflective glory of “shaming Celtic”.
“Sorry isn’t enough!” he said repeatedly throughout the article. “Shame on Celtic, they should do more, they must do more!”
What More Could Celtic Do? That's Not For The S*n to Decide
Amidst all the bile being spewed forth from his keyboard, at no point does Leckie actually specify what the current leadership at Celtic could have done in addition to their public apology and the substantial monetary compensation agreed this week.
The reality is, as I said yesterday, no amount of money can take back the violence inflicted on those boys, now men.
However, the settlement could, perhaps, help some of the victims move forward in their lives. I don’t know. I never endured what they did, so I won’t presume to speak for them. And nor should hacks like Bill Leckie.
Throughout his poison pen letter, Leckie repeatedly demands that Celtic show “genuine remorse” for what happened. Again, he gives no specifics whatsoever as to what this actually means.
Let’s just get something straight here: the only people whose opinions matter on whether Celtic have done enough in this case, are the victims. Not me, not you and certainly not Bill Leckie.
As I said yesterday, I hope that instead of petty point scoring, this ruling will remind all fans of all clubs of the danger sexual predators pose to all our kids.
It is perhaps the one thing, maybe the only thing, that the entirety of Scottish football should agree upon. These beasts have no place in civilized society. This disease has infected more clubs than just Celtic. You wouldn't know that though, Leckie's article makes no mention of it.
Civility seems to be an alien concept to the likes of Bill Leckie though.
His thoughtless words will only sow further hatred, and empower online trolls, with an already extremely unhealthy fixation on child abuse to continue to ramp up their campaign of vitriolic hate and slander.
I don’t presume to speak for the victims, but I doubt they would take any comfort from a so-called journalist at The S*n feigning offence on their behalf.
Leckie isn't fooling anyone. We know he doesn't give a damn about the victims, he just wants attention.
Sadly, stirring hatred online is quite an effective way to get such attention these days.
The weaponization of this abuse has to stop and the healing has to begin.
Celtic have said their piece and paid their penance.
Whether that’s enough is a question only the victims themselves can answer.
They need to be given the time, the support and the privacy to do so.
For the rest of us, the time to talk is over, and the time to listen has begun.
