WOMEN UNITED
Footballers who cut ties with Raith up for top sporting award
Tyler Rattray’s first love has always been football and for a decade she took great pride in pulling on her Raith Rovers jersey every week.
But the 23- year- old ’ s pride turned to shame and disgust when the Starks Park side made the catastrophic decision to sign rapist David Goodwillie.
Just minutes after hearing about the signing, the footballer announced she was stepping down as Raith Rovers Women’s captain via a heartwrenching statement on Twitter.
Thousands of people around the world backed her decision and congratulated her on taking a stand against violence towards women.
Along with the rest of the ladies’ team, they made the unanimous decision to sever all ties with Raith Rovers and set up an independent side of their own.
Rising out of the ashes came McDermid Ladies – named after their No1 fan and sponsor crime writer Val McDermid, a lifelong Rovers fan who withdrew herr support for the club over thee Goodwillie signing.
The inspirational team,, who have been nominated for the Scotland’s Champions sports award, have won five matches and are sitting at thee top of their league.
Tyler, from Glenrothes, said: “I will never forget waking upp to the news that Raith hadd signed David Goodwillie. My heart sank. I was in shock. My mum asked me what I was going to do? I went for a shower and when I came out I sent the tweet saying I was quitting.
“I was expecting one or two likes but within minutes there were thousands of folk tweeting me their support and thanking me for taking a stand. I couldn’t believe it.
“Cutting all ties with the club was the best decision I ever made. It was really scarys as I had spent 10 years of mmy lifelifebeingprobeingprouddofplaofplayinginginaRaithinaRaith shirt but that all changed in an instant.
“I couldn’t stand with a club that thought it was OK to play someone who had assaulted a woman. What message would that be sending out?
“Footballers are role models who young people look up to and aspire to be. How can you let someone who a court said was a rapist and shown no remorse on to a pitch and then cheer them on?”
Tyler tweeted: “After 10 long years playing for Raith, it’s gutting I have given up now because they have signed someone like this and I want nothing to do with it! It was good being captain of Raith while it lasted.”
The deputy bar manager, who started playing for the Kirkcaldy club aged just 13, wasn’t the only member of the team who was horrified by the club’s signing.
She said: “That night we all got together over Zoom and made a
unanimous decision to sever al l ties with the club but to still play on as a team. Val threw her support behind us and gave us funding for strips. That Sunday we stepped out on to the pitch as McDermid Ladies and we haven’t looked back since.
“The experience has brought us even closer together. We are one big family and knowing we are spreading the message of zero tolerance has given us even more fire and determination to succeed. We are committed to making women’s football and Scotland safer for al l women and girls.”
A judge in a civil case ruled in 2017 that Goodwillie, 32, and former Dundee United teammate David Robertson raped Denise Clair af ter a drunken night out in Bathgate, West Lothian, in 2011.
Prosecutors had refused to bring criminal proceedings against them but mum- of- one Denise – who waived her right to anonymity – launched the civil case and won.
Judge Lord Armstrong ordered the men to pay £100,000 compensation at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.
There was g loba l condemnation when in February Raith Rovers announced they were signing Goodwillie on loan from Clyde, with the likes of Nicola Sturgeon and Gordon Brown voicing their disappointment.
After the public outcry, the club terminated Goodwillie’s contract – admitting they had “got it wrong” and “bitterly regretted” the signing.
McDermid Ladies’ head coach Neil Sinclair, 43, is very proud of his team and the stand Tyler and the girls took.
He said: “They have managed to turn a negative into a positive. As a team, they just want to play football and they are determined the badge on the shirt won’t define who they are. They are incredible role models not just for younger footballers but for the world as a whole. They were a tight-knit team before but now they are even closer. They are proud to be part of something special and want to keep spreading their message.
“They didn’t do any of this for recognition but to know people have acknowledged their stance with an awards nomination is great.”
McDermid, who has been cheering the team on from the sidelines at all their matches, is also delighted about their awards nod.
She said: “I’m proud to be associated with McDermid Ladies, who took such a principled stand by severing their connections with Raith Rovers when they signed rapist David Goodwillie. “The solidarity, strength and sisterhood they’ve shown has been a beacon in the fight to prevent violence against women and girls. They’ve shown true grit on and off the field.”
Today we launch our search for Scotland’s Champions, the unsung heroes of 2022, with the nomination for McDermid Ladies. Now is the time to tell us about the people you know who selflessly go above and beyond to help friends, families and communities.
The gongs will be handed out on September 17 at a gl it ter ing ceremony in the DoubleTree by Hilton, Glasgow Central, attended by celebr it ies, sports stars, politicians and all the nominees.
Jem Maidment, chief marketing officer of our title sponsors Utilita, said: “It’s an honour and privilege to again be part of Scotland’s Champions. We look forward to hearing – and celebrating – the extraordinary achievements of ordinary people from across the country during what has been a challenging period.
“At Utilita, it’s always been our goal to make a difference in local communities and beyond. Scotland’s Champions gives the opportunity to recognise people who do the same.”
David Dick, editor- in- chief of Reach (Scotland), said: “Champions come in every shape and size. They rarely seek attention, yet what they do changes and transforms the lives of others – whether that’s in one simple act or a lifetime’s work.
“Scotland’s Champions is a celebration of their achievements.”
Cutting all ties with the club was the best decision I ever made