LUST Statement: Gary Cooper Leeds United Supporters' Trust has been contacted by a journalist from a national newspaper who intends to run a story concerning the personal life of our Chairman, Gary Cooper. Gary would like to say the following to all shareholders and members of the Trust: "The story the paper intends to print concerns the fact that my brother is currently serving a prison sentence for cannabis cultivation. Following his arrest in 2009, my family and I set up a business for my brother in order to take him away from the place and people who had led him into trouble. My brother was convicted in December 2010 and, as the business was unable to operate without him, it was placed into liquidation in March 2011. This resulted in a default on a business loan, from which a charge was placed on my own home. As a result, in October this year, my house was repossessed. "These matters concern only me and my family and are very private, and I do not feel they are of public interest or understand what anyone has to gain from them being printed in a national newspaper. "As far as I am concerned these events are separate from my role as Chairman of Leeds United Supporters' Trust. However, I understand that this story will have a negative impact on the Trust and call my role. Therefore, I would like to ask our shareholders and members to declare if they still have confidence in my ability to continue as their Chairman." As Gary has requested, and in line with our constitution as set by Supporters Direct, we are asking all LUST shareholders and members to vote on the following question: Do you want Gary Cooper to continue as Chairman of Leeds United Supporters' Trust? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ While I have made my opinions regarding LUST in the past well known, I do feel sorry for the guy about to have his personal life dragged up by the media (we all have demons). I do have mixed thoughts on this one though, while I will not be voting either way (email had a vote link) surely the right thing to do would have been to step down rather than put it to a vote? Forget the confidence as chairman issue, Gary has said himself he feels the story will have a negative impact...
Disgraceful media behaviour, yes. Unfortunately I feel Gary's position is now untenable. His credibility is damaged as a result of this, and therefore if he is to remain as chairman of the trust, the credibility of the trust as an entity will also be damaged. The integrity of the trust and what it stands for is threatened by this information, and I fear the judgements of those dealing with the trust will be affected for the worse. The bargaining position of the trust is threatened by having a chairman in his current position.
I won't be reading the media report, I had a friend who was found guilty of something once, they received a 2 year suspended sentence, the local paper took 25% of the truth and the rest of what they printed was total garbage. Marko - Exactly my thoughts, I honestly do feel sorry for the guy but I do fail to see why he has asked for it to be put to a vote, surely the right thing to do would be to step down? If the new owners wanted ANY kind of excuse not to have LUST on board it will now rightly or wrongly be handed to them on a plate.
Journalists in the most part are ****ing scum. They'll find an angle, twist and distort it until it sells tens of thousands of copies.
ken bates owns (owned) the football club. Unfortunately that gives him the power to do whatever he likes regardless of his credibility. At the end of the day though, his behaviour severely affected his business, although he'd be the first to tell you otherwise and blame it on just about anybody else.
I know exactly how the media can twist details and distort fractions of information for their own ends. I feel very sorry for Gary and I think he's done the right thing by putting out this statement and putting his chairmanship to the vote. I know some will feel he should step down but first and foremost LUST have operated on the basis of their members/shareholders having the final say, so it's right IMO that they should decide. As I understand it it's the Mail running the story, so no surprises there.
Once again, the right to freedom of speech is abused, it's integrity is **** on and ripped to shreds, all in the name of selling newspapers.
His integrity is totally intact. How has any of this affected his ability to perform as LUST Chairman? How is cannabis cultivation really a crime? How is helping your brother a bad thing? He'll rent a new house for this family and it will all blow over, and it's an absolute non-event which we should never have heard about in the first place. Disgraceful that some fans are using it to cast doubt, when it has ABSOLUTELY NO validity in establishing his LUST chairman credentials. Leeds fans should boycott and protest outside the offices of whichever papers dare to print this gutter slur. STICK TOGETHER RATHER THAN BEING SNIDE, SELF-IMPORTANT CUNTS. I don't want them physically stopped from printing the truth, but Leeds fans should use their most vociferous powers in response to such a disgraceful publication.
I don't believe it has any impact on his ability to perform as LUST Chairman. Unfortunately the majority of others aren't so philosophically inclined as me or you and will just label him as a deadbeats brother. It will taint his position and he'll lose a lot of his credibility from those on the outside. Organisations that have the opportunity to deal with LUST, including LUFC, may be reluctant to do so with Gary in charge. It's an unfortunate fact of life, it's despicable, it's disgraceful, but it remains a fact that this will affect his credibility in the eyes of many.
**** 'many'. That's the kind of mindless, herd-reasoning that says it's OK to beat up 'Pakis' because they're not 'one of us', and 'most white people think that way'. Don't accept defeat just because the majority want you to. What we should be concerning ourselves with is what's right and wrong - should and shouldn't - and what's truly right is for this man who's served the Leeds United community so well to continue in his position, and have greater backing than ever. Let's wait for the facts and see what part Bates and GFH have had, see which paper and which journo were sniffing around, see what else is happening on the slur-train that is Leeds United's media department (yes, Paul Dews, I'm talking about you you slippery ****). And then, when we find out who's been responsible for this attack on the man who represents Leeds United fans, we will give them hell.
Now you're taking it too far. Unfortunately most people will see it that way and society doesn't tell them that that kind of judgement is "wrong" like it does with racism, so nothing will ever change.
I'm not taking anything too far, I'm saying that it's illogic to believe that A) the majority are necessarily right, and that B) the majority's perceptions of something matter. I then extrapolated that illogic of herd-worship onto the situation of violent race hate, which yes, is proportionately worse than the media pointlessly slurring Gary Cooper for a non-event of a screw-up in his personal life, but is also a good reflection of how that sort of thinking is harmful and damaging and leads to bad things. I've seen enough Thick Of It and watched enough Fox News to know the score about how smearing people works. You get a story about them, print it, harness the public reaction (probably split). Then, crucially, you then run another story saying the majority of the public hate the slurred person, which in turn convinces the weak-minded of the ones still supporting them to change their mind. Fox News did it when the Republican Primaries were on - they floated the ideas of Santorum, Gingrich, Paul and Romney to the people, then Murdoch told them that Romney was the one he liked, and they pronounced him the favourite by saying that everyone was going crazy for him (which, by all statistical indications, they weren't). But then they did start to when the slurs against the other candidates started being wheeled out on the same TV news station. That's the power of the press. Sheeple will generally believe what they're told, and when they don't, change their opinion so that they fit in with the even more spineless/brainless people around them. Well come on, we're Leeds United fans, we've been on the end of enough media slurring campaigns to know when one of our own is being hit by one. Forget the LUST-haters who'll do anything to reduce the voice of the fanbase just because they're insecure, supine little self-hating Stockholm Syndrome twats, and let's show some collective GRIT. COOPER IN BATES OUT.
And we have another month at least of bates poisoning the new owners with his whinging about "that blasted gary cooper and his no good LUST", with even more fuel for the fire. Unfortunately people have a habit of believing ken bates for reasons beyond my capacity. I would rather avoid a situation where the board refuse to speak to LUST because they think LUST are a set of incompetents on the basis that the chairman has essentially ****ed his own financial situation in the arse.
I'm sorry, Marko & Ristac, but I cannot possibly agree with you. From what Gary has said, he has acted honourably and in good faith to help steer his brother along the right path. What's so untenable about that? I fully support him, not because it's him personally, but because I see no reason to take any sort of action. There has been no wrongdoing on his part, quite the contrary. I deeply suspect that this is a Bates parting shot, and that further stiffens my resolve. Scum journalism (is this really in the public interest??) must never win, and Bates more so. We have a wonderful opportunity to smack the old kunt in the face by voting with a resounding 'STAY, GARY!!'
What's untenable is the fact that he now has to contend with potentially nobody outside of LUST taking him seriously on this basis. It's a fact that sheeple will believe whatever they are told, and if they are told that Gary Cooper is the brother of a deadbeat they will assume that Gary Cooper is also a deadbeat. That has an effect on his credibility. Not to me, not to you, but to other, impressionable people who don't have the mental capacity to think for themselves. People who may be in a position of power to affect change for Leeds United, who may decide to take on board or ignore suggestions made by LUST based on how credible the organisation is. The credibility of the organisation in their eyes may be affected by this incident. On top of the fact that LUST has already made claims that have been denied by GFH-C - I could understand bates denying LUST claims but to have GFH-C publicly slam what LUST have said has had a serious effect on their credibility already.
So you don't want him to fight and possibly win. If he stands down, it would mean that Bates managed to get his own way again. THAT MUST NOT HAPPEN. He must not be allowed to have this victory.
If he had been dipping his fingers in the till then that is one thing. To drag up some story from the past is quite another. However I feel Master Bates will use the situation to try and (further) discredit LUST. Therefore I regretably feel that Cooper will have to stand down to deprive Bates of the oxygen of vitriol. I bet unlike David Conn who got as close as anyone ever will to exposing Bates for what he is , this would be one journalist very welcome at Elland Road.
