A Kiss Gone Way Wrong

Luis Rubiales vs. Jenni Hermoso

One of the definitions of freedom is defending people you don’t much like. Jocks are not especially likeable, many are morons and their hierarchy is so corrupted by torrential flows of money that they hardly need a pro-bono journo for the defense. Further, some small but significant percentage of football coaches, in the UK anyway, have been found guilty of sadistic behavoir towards their youngest charges, and it stretches credulity to hope it isn’t happening in the shadows elsewhere. Power corrupts, and if you want an example of capitalist society monetizing an innate human activity for profit and sick kicks, sport is as good a place to look as any. 

And yet… and yet… and yet… I dislike vengeful, holy warrior prosecutors just as much. Especially when their actions cross the invisible line and we all know it’s about the high-profile pursuit and a famous head on the office wall. Golazzo ! Society has its hypocrisies and perversions, flaunted openly. Sit in your local courtroom for a morning and see if it isn’t true.

Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, I give you the kiss.

Luis Rubiales is the former head of the RFEF, the Spanish Football Federation. He is charged with one count of sexual assault and one of coercion after kissing one of his players, Jenni Hermoso, on the lips during celebrations after the Spanish team beat England in the Women’s World Cup Final in Sydney, Australia, August 20 last year. The case is coming to court now; Rubiales could serve up to 30 months in jail, although some sort of pardon is being muttered about. Prosecutor Marta Durántez is seeking additional punitive damages of 50,000€ in damages to Hermoso, another 50,000€ to be jointly paid by Rubiales and other members of the RFEF who pressured Hermoso to be quiet.

You can read the UK Guardian’s latest on the story here.

Is this indignity, this unasked for kiss, commonplace in Spain ? I grew up in a milieu where sexual politics was a debate, not a court case. This one smacks of a celebrity hanging, not macho violence. Isn’t what we’re watching the mediatic class tearing each other’s eyes out ?

A few more questions off the top of my head…

Did you get all the way through the Guardian article for the full frisson ? How did it strike you ? What’s your opinion of the modern sports machine ? What about prosecutors, are you the kind of person who says, ‘If she’s prosecuting there must be something there ?’ Let me rephrase that. Do you believe prosecutors of either sex ever manipulate the law to suit their ambitions, going for high-profile prosecutions in line with ever-flexible contemporary law and morality that will get them reams of press while furthering their political ambitions ? Should we be in court for a kiss ? Should the executive jock, Rubiales, now fired, also serve jail time and suffer financial consequences because he lost control after a big victory ? Would a well-aimed slap across the face and or a strongly worded refutation from the injured party have sufficed ? She’s on record as saying she didn’t like it and underwent enormous pressure to say she did. What would be the adequate and just response ? Would the whole thing be different if the kissing coach was a woman ?

Should prosecutors or HR dummies be present at parties, award celebrations or indeed any public events to identify ‘unwarranted behavoir’? Not as farfetched an idea as you might think... Do you believe that a prosecution such as this helps dismantle the ‘patriarchy’? Do you think Rubiales’ graceless behavoir or the subsequent barrage of lawfare will go any distance towards resolving current relations between women and men, which at best can be described as awkward and at worst as calculating and frigid ? Should any human who makes a faux pas, slight or serious, be banned from the playing field of life ? What will your reaction be when three years from now Rubiales gets a job somewhere ? Will it be ‘I told you! They always get off too easy!’ ?

Do you believe that all harassment or hate can be banned outright or that humans are an unruly species given to unforced errors ? Is this a bump on the road to the hate-free world of tomorrow or is the Inquisition back in town ? What are the chances Jenni Hermoso will make the rounds of talk shows to discuss her trauma, ending up with a sweet book deal afterwards ?

The prosecutor has just raided Rubiales’ house in Granada in hot pursuit of documents relating to the 2022 World Cup in Saudi Arabia. Did the Saudis bribe him ? I’d be shocked. But he’s being prosecuted for a kiss; if convicted, that will set legal precedent. In our therapy driven culture, we move beyond the #MeToo moment directly into the courts, in Spain for now. Won’t stay there long, will it ?  

The virus has already come ashore in France. Women are being charged in court for not using ‘correct pronouns’, and for calling the transgender mayor of Tilloy-lez-Marchiennes a man. Men are too cowed to do so. Liberals, alternatives, further left, all silent.

It’s possible, isn’t it, to be a defender of women’s rights and find the Spanish case, as I obviously do, a tremendous load of bollocks ? Or must I be cancelled yet again ?

I’d love to hear from attorneys, activists, (almost) anyone with an opinion. This has been coming for awhile. Scotland’s new anti-Hate law taking effect April first will criminalize any comment considered injurious to protected ‘categories’, even if made at home. ‘Third party reporting centres’ will be open for no-doubt brisk business. Kathleen Stark, who’s already paid the price for standing up, describes it here in more detail. What’s the connection between the two ? The state is now a social activist policing your thoughts, feelings, speech and comportment. Progressives couldn’t be happier. The rest of us have to watch ourselves and we’re probably on camera so it’s too late anyway.    

Happy Easter weekend ! Turn the clock back and fall in love madly, unexpectedly, against the rules, against your type, the whole nine yards. Good luck ! I’m going to get lost in Burgundy for a more picturesque essay on Romanesque architecture and pretend none of this ever happened.