Andy Murray: I have no sympathy for Boris Becker - he broke the law

Frenchy-Player

Frenchy-Player

Hall of Fame
“He broke the law, and if you do that, I don’t think you should get special treatment because of who you are or what you’ve achieved” Murray said. “I feel sorry that he’s in that situation, but I also feel sorry for the people that he’s affected with his decisions.”

www.telegraph.co.uk

Andy Murray: I have no sympathy for Boris Becker - he broke the law

Scot says he feels more for those affected by jailed German's actions but Novak Djokovic is 'heartbroken' over former coach's fate
www.telegraph.co.uk www.telegraph.co.uk
 
R

reaper

Legend
Frenchy-Player said:
“He broke the law, and if you do that, I don’t think you should get special treatment because of who you are or what you’ve achieved” Murray said. “I feel sorry that he’s in that situation, but I also feel sorry for the people that he’s affected with his decisions.”

www.telegraph.co.uk

Andy Murray: I have no sympathy for Boris Becker - he broke the law

Scot says he feels more for those affected by jailed German's actions but Novak Djokovic is 'heartbroken' over former coach's fate
www.telegraph.co.uk www.telegraph.co.uk
Click to expand...

He has no sympathy for Becker but is sorry that he's in the situation he's in. So he does have sympathy....
 
UnderratedSlam

UnderratedSlam

G.O.A.T.
TennisLurker said:
I disagree, I think tax crimes should be paid with money, not jail time
Confiscate everything he has, and turn the German state into a new ex-wife that gets an extra large chunk of all the new money he makes
Click to expand...
There is a huge difference between withholding $10,000 and $10,000,000. The laws have to differentiate.

Same with a bank robber or any other crime. Robbing one bank or ten... Not quite the same.

Large sums are at stake here, and what is even more crucial here, he is a repeat offender. He just didn't give a crap and that kind of lax attitude is best punished with hard prison time.
 
B

BorgTheGOAT

Legend
UnderratedSlam said:
A poll conducted by a German TV station:

The verdict is too harsh - 22%

The verdict is too mild - 27%

The verdict is just right - 51%.
Click to expand...
That is not exactly surprising, Germans tend to be very harsh and spiteful towards their former sport stars. There is also a lot of media folks and fans making fun of Lothar Matthäus whenever he makes a fool of himself. The only one who gets a pass here is Beckenbauer despite being not much less of a clown outside the football pitch. If the same situation as with Becker would have happened with Pele in Brazil we would likely have a vote of 90% saying the verdict is too hard.
 
NonP

NonP

Legend
Muzz is right about the misplaced sympathy, but wrong about the punishment. Which brings us to....

TennisLurker said:
I disagree, I think tax crimes should be paid with money, not jail time
Confiscate everything he has, and turn the German state into a new ex-wife that gets an extra large chunk of all the new money he makes
Click to expand...

Seconded. I get the schadenfreude about a gazillionaire getting his well-deserved comeuppance, but our society is far too eager to put our so-called undesirables in jail/prison when ample research indicates that imprisonment doesn't really deter future crimes. I can see the need for locking up violent criminals, but a spendthrift like Boris? Better to garnish his earnings and collect/confiscate his remaining/hidden assets.

BorgTheGOAT said:
That is not exactly surprising, Germans tend to be very harsh and spiteful towards their former sport stars. There is also a lot of media folks and fans making fun of Lothar Matthäus whenever he makes a fool of himself. The only one who gets a pass here is Beckenbauer despite being not much less of a clown outside the football pitch. If the same situation as with Becker would have happened with Pele in Brazil we would likely have a vote of 90% saying the verdict is too hard.
Click to expand...

Must be some sort of overcompensation from a dark period in the nation's history, no?

aldeayeah said:
That's the music equivalent of saying Laver couldn't crush the ball like Fed - technically right, and yet completely missing the point.
Click to expand...

Not a HM fan, but dig the analogy.
 
UnderratedSlam

UnderratedSlam

G.O.A.T.
BorgTheGOAT said:
That is not exactly surprising, Germans tend to be very harsh and spiteful towards their former sport stars. There is also a lot of media folks and fans making fun of Lothar Matthäus whenever he makes a fool of himself. The only one who gets a pass here is Beckenbauer despite being not much less of a clown outside the football pitch. If the same situation as with Becker would have happened with Pele in Brazil we would likely have a vote of 90% saying the verdict is too hard.
Click to expand...
Yes.

Also, the German public is having a problem with the old "justice for the rich justice for the rest" problem, with several high-profile cases making the public angry, wealthy industrialists avoiding jail and such. I believe Germans have a bit of a "justice crisis", their legal system being generally very lenient and unfair too in the class sense.
 
aldeayeah

aldeayeah

G.O.A.T.
NonP said:
Seconded. I get the schadenfreude about a gazillionaire getting his well-deserved comeuppance, but our society is far too eager to put our so-called undesirables in jail/prison when ample research indicates that imprisonment doesn't really deter future crimes. I can see the need for locking up violent criminals, but a spendthrift like Boris? Better to garnish his earnings and collect/confiscate his remaining/hidden assets.
Click to expand...
Take a page from the Romans and enslave his *ss into teaching kids tennis!
 
UnderratedSlam

UnderratedSlam

G.O.A.T.
aldeayeah said:
That's the music equivalent of saying Laver couldn't crush the ball like Fed - technically right, and yet completely missing the point.
Click to expand...
Judy Priest play pop music.

Sorry to tell you, mate...

Just a year later Metallica recorded their first song, not to mention the very heavy hardcore punk scene from the same era as Breaking the Law...

So yeah, Judy Priest were always soft. Fluffy, soft and cheesy. Sure they were heavier than Elvis, if that's a comfort...
 
D

D.Nalby12

G.O.A.T.
ronalditop said:
“He broke the law, and if you do that, I don’t think you should get special treatment because of who you are or what you’ve achieved”

Special treatment, such as getting tons of wildcards.

Andy is right.
Click to expand...

Just few days back he justified dozens of WCs he got saying "how quickly people forget". He thinks he deserves special treatment just because once British media hyped him as an ATG. But OTOH he wants Becker (A real ATG) to be treated like roadside criminal. Bloody hypocrite.
 
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T

tex123

Hall of Fame
I don't think Andy meant the statement to come out that harsh. Becker is a tennis icon. I'm sure he feels for him. But he's been reckless just like he was in the broom cupboard. Bad advisers or himself - no idea. Sad situation. But he was found guilty by a jury and sentenced by the judge accordingly. Two years is a long time. If he had shown some remorse, the judge could've cut him some slack.
 
UnderratedSlam

UnderratedSlam

G.O.A.T.
tex123 said:
I don't think Andy meant the statement to come out that harsh. Becker is a tennis icon. I'm sure he feels for him. But he's been reckless just like he was in the broom cupboard. Bad advisers or himself - no idea. Sad situation. But he was found guilty by a jury and sentenced by the judge accordingly. Two years is a long time. If he had shown some remorse, the judge could've cut him some slack.
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Both.

Plus he chose the advisors themselves, he didn't get them chained to the hip.

And he keeps changing advisors which implies he refuses to listen to them when they ask him to be reasonable. Many celebs fire their financial advisors when they are brutally honest. Because many celebs are like small children.
 
aldeayeah

aldeayeah

G.O.A.T.
UnderratedSlam said:
Judy Priest play pop music.

Sorry to tell you, mate...

Just a year later Metallica recorded their first song, not to mention the very heavy hardcore punk scene from the same era as Breaking the Law...

So yeah, Judy Priest were always soft. Fluffy, soft and cheesy. Sure they were heavier than Elvis, if that's a comfort...
Click to expand...
I don't even particularly like Judas Priest! But I'd never deny them their historical status

my favorite early metal act is Rainbow for the record
 
UnderratedSlam

UnderratedSlam

G.O.A.T.
aldeayeah said:
I don't even particularly like Judas Priest! But I'd never deny them their historical status

my favorite early metal act is Rainbow for the record
Click to expand...
Rainbow's Rising is a classic, for sure.

But I never go for "historical significance", personally. Influential isn't necessarily the same as good. JP were important in terms of influence, but they were also mostly crap...
 
D

D.Nalby12

G.O.A.T.
UnderratedSlam said:
Andy is so bloodthirsty.

He virtue-signals every week, but there is a very nasty side to him that may not be that obvious to those unfamiliar with his career, behaviour, statements...
Click to expand...


Murray has got very boring game and unpleasant negative on and off court personality. If not for British media support - he would be right there with Zverev as one of most hated players on tour.
 
ibbi

ibbi

G.O.A.T.
"I also feel sorry for the people that he’s affected with his decisions.”
Click to expand...
Andy Murray in "I feel sorry for The Man" shocker. Was completely with him until this idiotic sentence tacked on the end.
 
Thriller

Thriller

Hall of Fame
TennisLurker said:
I disagree, I think tax crimes should be paid with money, not jail time
Confiscate everything he has, and turn the German state into a new ex-wife that gets an extra large chunk of all the new money he makes
Click to expand...

If the only penalties for tax fraud were financial, many more wealthy people would take the gamble that they could get away with it.
People get sent to prison for fraudulently claiming welfare cheques worth hundreds, at the most thousands all the time and no one cries a tear for them. Save your tears for Becker, he doesn't deserve them. Becker swindled millions.

Each of the four charges he was convicted on carries a maximum sentence of 7 years, yet he has been given less than half of that for stealing millions, not admitting his guilt leading to a costly investigation and trial.
He is extremely fortunate to be looking at 2.5 years with half the sentence served on licence. I hope he isn't foolish enough to appeal the sentence. If anything he has been treated very leniently, he may find that the sentence is increased.
 
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