Must admit I did a hit and run on this thread after dropping the abortion issue bombshell. Glad to see I wasn't lynched for it.
All I'll add is this- clearly the "abortion issue" is central to the Metcalfe issue, because almost everyone who condemns Metcalfe keeps saying "he tried to kill his unborn child" as opposed to "he kicked his girlfriend in the stomach a few times".
For me, it's one of the big reasons I can't fully condemn the guy- I can't condemn someone for trying to kill their unborn, and at the same time say that other people should be free to do so. I can't rationalise that for myself, as much as the world wants me to.
Above and beyond that I think you have to look at the specific circumstances. I can't condone what he did, but if you were a 15 year old CHILD, had the world at your feet, and suddenly had a bombshell dropped on you, what would you do? And then you add in the fact that the "bombshell" could easily be "dealt with" by the same "procedure" that most women have at some point anyway...it's a very confusing situation for a kid.
Ultimately I think what he did was deplorable and clearly criminal, but I'm not going to pretend that my views on the specific circumstances of his crime don't in some way influence my views on whether or not he should be allowed to play again. There are probably other crimes he could commit (ones which our judiciary would also regard as more serious and punish with a longer sentence), such as a crime of more violence (e.g. he killed someone or left them in some way permanently disabled/disfigured) which would make me less willing to let him play again.
