Stay classy, the Terry family.
Just when ugly stories and headlines regarding John Terry and his parents seem to have disappeared, JT’s Dad has heaped more shame on Chelsea’s captain.
Ted Terry, 59, was today charged with racially aggravated assault after an incident in London earlier this year. Ted was released on bail and will appear at the City of London Magistrates’ Court on July 23.
This all comes after his son, John, was embroiled in probably the largest racism scandal to ever hit the English Premier League.
Just to remind you, Terry was accused of racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand back in 2011 and lost his place in the England squad. Terry was later cleared of any criminal charges in court, but was banned by the English Football Association and charged with racist abuse.He has carried around the stigma of being accused as a racist ever since.
So obviously these headlines are the last thing Terry, 32, needs heading into the new EPL campaign.
Trying to get his Chelsea career back up and running after injury concerns and being used in a squad rotation system by Rafael Benitez last season, Terry will be hoping for a clean slate under new Chelsea manager José Mourinho. When the Portuguese manager was in charge at Stamford Bridge last time out, Terry was his inspirational leader and the duo formed a close bond.
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But with more bad press for Terry and ultimately the club, can Mourinho trust Chelsea’s skipper to perform and lead his troops this season?
Many would argue that David Luiz, Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic have jumped ahead of Terry in Chelsea’s central defensive pecking order. By don’t rule out Terry yet. Mourinho has recently stated how important Chelsea’s older players are in helping to mold the youngsters at the club.
Terry is a leader and a no-nonsense defender on the pitch. But off it, his life and that of his family have brought shame and scandal to his name time and time again.
Here are a few other incidents that are making it harder and harder for Terry’s name to abscond controversy. Ted Terry was secretly filmed by a British newspaper trying to sell cocaine to a citizen in an English pub four years ago. Terry’s mother, Sue, and his mother-in-law Sue Poole, were both charged with shop lifting back in 2009. Terry’s contract at Chelsea is for $10 million a year... And of course Terry himself has never been far from the front page of the British tabloids after drunken binges, alleged affairs with the fianceé of his Chelsea teammate Wayne Bridge and being stripped of the England captaincy on two separate occasions.
Can Terry do much about the behavior of his Dad? No.
But this season is pivotal in the legacy the Chelsea captain can leave behind. Mourinho will help make or break the former England internationals season. If he leads Chelsea to another EPL title in 2013-14, then many will forget these unsavory headlines about Terry and his family. But if JT fails and drifts into obscurity on the bench and Chelsea struggle, expect to see plenty more stories of outlandish behavior from Terry...and his family.