“I want to show Freya and every other girl and boy that if something happens to you, you can stand up for yourself, no matter who the person is, and that justice will be served. I hope my story reminds all victims of sexual assault that no matter how afraid you may be, you must speak up, have a voice, and continue to fight for justice.
“I know that this has had a huge impact on not only my life, the lives of my daughter, my family and my friends. And it’s something I’ll never forget for the rest of my life.”
Nikita Hand barely made her statement to the Dublin court, which had just ruled in favor of her claim that MMA fighter Conor McGregor sexually abused her in 2018 in a civil case.
It was a reminder of the barriers faced by women who’re victims of such violence. The strength and determination shown by Hand will need to have been extraordinary in even reporting the attack, let alone pursuing it so far. Hand said she felt “disappointed” by Irish prosecutors who didn’t bring criminal charges against McGregor.
The court was told that McGregor had hand pinned down and placed in a “chokehold” as he attacked her, and that the paramedic who treated her said they’d not seen “someone with bruises like that” in an extended time after She had been taken to a clinic ambulance to a sexual assault treatment unit.
Hand was awarded slightly below €250,000 ($257,000) in damages. McGregor denied the allegations and said he would appeal. He posted a lengthy statement on X, which he has since deleted. It was determined that one other man had not attacked Hand.
The court was also told in regards to the impact of the attack on Hand's life. She needed to quit her job, her relationship together with her then-partner ended, she needed to stop therapy sessions to ease the psychological effects because she couldn't afford them, her mortgage was now in arrears and he or she had to maneuver out of her house after men broke in and stabbed their latest partner. The judge ruled that the latter incident shouldn’t be considered by the jury as there was no indication that McGregor himself was involved.
This is all mentioned to focus on the impact of sexual assault on an individual's life, and it seems almost inappropriate to deal with the query: “What does this mean for football?”
But McGregor has tried to get entangled in football wherever he can and he has often been spoiled for it.
Consider the time in October when he found his way onto the pitch on the Emirates Stadium, where, after attending a promotional event in London, he supposedly one way or the other managed to get into places within the stadium that even a typical hospitality ticket couldn't reach You.
He posed for a photograph with Declan Rice and was filmed ranting and playfully arguing with Bukayo Saka, who didn't seem particularly comfortable with the entire experience.
Arsenal asked McGregor to depart the pitch and later made it clear they’d review their security measures to make sure something like this doesn't occur again in the long run.
McGregor fights at Emirates (Instagram)
A couple of weeks later, McGregor was also within the stands at Arsenal's away game in Newcastle and appeared on British radio station talkSPORT.
He posed for photos with Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, amongst others, and recurrently interacted online with Sergio Ramos. At the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, he was a guest on the 2018 World Cup final in Moscow.
He has expressed his support for several clubs over time, including Manchester United, Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain. He has invested in his local Irish club, Lourdes Celtic, and has attracted numerous attention by claiming he’s considering buying various teams including United, Chelsea and Liverpool.
To be fair, it seems like numerous people in the sport didn't even want anything to do with McGregor before the decision was announced last week.
He has been accused of a variety of violent offenses and has previous convictions for assault and disorderly conduct. Until now, the fundamental legal accusation against McGregor has been that he’s an obnoxious, sometimes violent idiot, and there are many those in football.
Now a court has confirmed the allegations of one among the worst crimes a human being can commit. This is especially insidious since the sense of fear and intimidation that accompanies any sexual assault allegation is magnified on this case: McGregor is an especially famous, influential and wealthy man with numerous aggressive fans who need no encouragement Defend him and check out to intimidate any perceived threat to him.
So now there isn’t any excuse. From this point on, you’ll be able to't claim to not know McGregor. If it wasn't clear before that he was a harmful character that nobody in football must be related to, it’s now.
image credit : www.nytimes.com