John Terry Combines Tiger and Pitino Scandals, Possibly to Save British Tabloids

It's the sort of headline that would pass pretty much every test of salaciousness: "John Terry got secret lover pregnant." And that's the one News of the World gets to blare under an "England in Crisis" banner. Add in an abortion, and it's the sort of thing every tabloid publisher dreams of.

ENGLAND Captain John Terry made his lover pregnant - then paid for her to have an abortion.

Married Terry - whose bid to stop us exposing his affair was thrown out by the High Court on Friday - was at the bedside of secret mistress Vanessa Perroncel for the procedure in a private clinic.

Afterwards he gave her £20,000 to "cheer herself up".

Terry organised the abortion for his secret mistress just weeks into their affair.

Breathless yet? Great. Here's the paragraph where the tabloid's tale fails to make the connection to Terry's on-pitch performance.

The revelation will stun Terry's loyal wife Toni Poole, 28, and throws fresh doubt over his ability to captain England just five months before the World Cup.

What Terry is alleged to have done has what, exactly, to do with soccer?

It's a sordid story that will look good on tabloid covers and make for lively pub debate. But it does nothing to impugn Terry's judgment on anything related to the Three Lions, despite his mistress' previous relationship with another England player, defender Wayne Bridge. It just reveals him as the sort of famous man who leaves scandal in his wake and gives British tabloids a chance to capitalize kissing and footsie in print.

If Terry and Bridge can't put aside their personal differences to make a run at the world's biggest sporting event, then there should be doubts not only about Terry's efficacy as captain, but the team's ability to ever raise the World Cup trophy again. As long as there are extraordinarily wealthy and fit men, there will be scandals that sell papers. 

Only the names in the headlines change.

(HT: Deadspin.)

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