John Terry Racial Abuse Trial: Reaction to the Not Guilty Verdict

Over the past several months, I have followed the fallout of the John Terry-Anton Ferdinand incident. Like everyone else, I knew very little about the facts of the case.

I knew that the incident took place at Loftus Road, the home of Queens Park Rangers F.C, during a match between QPR and Chelsea in October.

I knew that in that match, a frustrating one for Chelsea in which they ended with nine men, Terry and Ferdinand had an altercation on the pitch.

I knew that Ferdinand claimed that Terry had racially abused him.

I had seen the video of Terry saying what looked to be some awful words.

I knew that Terry denied any wrongdoing.

But that was all I knew.

As the case dragged on and the trial was postponed, the after-effects of the incident kept painting a bleaker picture of John Terry.

Reports from people close to the situation all but stated as fact that the Chelsea defender had done what he was being accused of.

The English FA even got involved, stripping Terry of his captain's badge before he had a chance to defend himself, in the process pushing coach Fabio Capello out the door.

Like everyone else, I took these actions as a signal from those who were closer to the case: John Terry was a guilty man who deserved scorn for his actions.

So what now, after John Terry was found not guilty of any wrongdoing in a court of law this morning?

Everyone is in agreement: racial abuse is a terrible crime and needs to be stomped out of football.

But does that mean we should punish a man for the accusation of it? What happened to due process?

The English FA acted too soon in stripping Terry of his captaincy, a point emphasized by Capello's departure. Who knows where they would be now had they waited to take action.

More importantly, though, the court of public opinion acted too soon in judgment.

In his verdict on the case, Chief Magistrate Howard Riddle said, "It is understandable why Mr Terry wants to make this point—his reputation is at stake."

With all due respect to the judge's verdict, I disagree. Terry's reputation was not at stake, it was already ruined.

This verdict will do next to nothing for him. There will still be people commenting on this article about John Terry being "a racist pig" or something along those lines.

Mr. Terry is the victim of a society in which one can be perceived guilty before proved innocent, and even then thought guilty.

It was a regrettable situation and one that warranted a deal of scrutiny toward John Terry and his character. However, it went too far.

John Terry just did not deserve what he got.

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