Media Report Analysis - Essay Example

In December 2009, Lovett was suspended from the football club, and in February 2010, the club terminated his contract. The principal reason given was that he had brought the club into disrepute after sexual assault allegations had been made against him. The precise details of the contract are not provided, but this press release from the football club suggests that by attracting negative media attention, Lovett had done enough to be in breach of certain clauses. However, it is unlikely that this would have been sufficient reason to terminate the contract, given that, as the football club itself emphasises, Lovett remains ‘entitled to the presumption of innocence’.

For this reason, however serious the nature of the allegations made against Lovett, to do more than indefinitely suspending the contract pending police investigation would have seemed a disproportionate response to the issue. The Club is therefore careful to emphasise that it is not for them to prejudge on innocence or guilt, which ‘is for the Court to decide’. Instead, what is emphasised is that these charges were not the sole reason for the termination of the contract. The press release therefore refers to ‘a series of acts and omissions in breach of his [Lovett’s] employment contract’.

Little detail is given on what these breaches involved, apart from that he failed to fulfil his training commitments, and to maintain sufficient communication with officials at the football Club. While the sexual assault allegations made against him provided valid reason for the suspension of Lovett’s contract until the criminal justice process had taken its course, these breaches do seem to be adequate justification for the termination of the contract. If Lovett failed to turn up to training sessions with the rest of the team, then his performance on the field would clearly suffer, as would his