Does Benjamin Mendy Deserve A Second Chance?
In August 2021, Manchester City left-back Benjamin Mendy was arrested and charged with four counts of rape and one count of sexual assault. Following his arrest, Mendy was charged with three additional counts of rape.
Things looked bleak for the French player. After all, one rape charge is pretty damning, let alone seven. In total, Mendy was facing seven rape charges, one attempted rape charge and one sexual assault charge. Despite all of this, Mendy chose to plead not guilty, and in the end, this is what the jury found.
In January 2023, he was found not guilty of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault by a British court. Then, in July, Mendy was found not guilty of one count of rape and one of attempted rape.
He was cleared of all charges. It was clear would never be able to return to Manchester City, where he had played for three seasons before the allegations.
Rightfully so, he was released by City when his contract expired last month. Can you blame them? Mendy would only bring negative publicity with him, and with plenty of other left-back options out there, City decided to cut ties with the 29-year-old.
However, he has been given a second chance. Ligue 1 side FC Lorient announced the signing of Mendy on a free transfer on Wednesday. Mendy signed a two-year contract with the club, keeping him with Lorient until 2025. He will wear the number 5, meaning Lorient sees him as a starter.
The question is, does Mendy deserve a second chance? Look, the court, found him innocent, but I am not going to lie, all of those rape charges are pretty daming. I mean, when there is that much smoke, there is likely fire. If you want to look more into what Mendy was accused of, read this article. If any of this is true, then Mendy is a bad bad dude.
However, he was found innocent of all of these charges. Every. Single. One. I don’t know whether the allegations are true or not. The only person who really knows is Benjamin Mendy. However, the court found him innocent, and as much as we may want to think of him in a negative way, we ultimately have to look at him as an innocent man.
I hope, for his sake, that he is truly innocent. When you think about the things that professional athletes have done and have gotten away with throughout history, he probably did something. It might not be as bad as the allegations say it is, but the reality is, he probably did something unsavory, whether it be illegal or not.
He was found innocent, and he deserves a second chance. All we can go off of is what the court finds, and if the jury finds him innocent, then that is how he should be treated. Best of luck, Benjamin Mendy. I still will not be rooting for you, but you do deserve your second chance, and I hope for your sake that you make the most of it.
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