Paul Gascoigne charged with sexual assault

More awful news this morning. The BBC and other outlets are reporting that retired England international footballer and Tottenham Hotspur legend Paul Gascoigne has been charged with sexual assault.

The charges stem from an incident of unwanted touching on a Durham train this past August, for which Gascoigne was arrested. There aren’t very many details available about what happened in August, but here’s the relevant paragraph from the BBC write-up:

British Transport Police said the 51-year-old has now been charged with one count of sexual assault by touching and will appear at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court on 11 December.

Gascoigne is a Tottenham and England legend, one of the heroes of the 1990 World Cup and considered one of the best midfielders of his generation. Unfortunately, Gazza’s career has also been plagued by alcoholism, substance abuse, and accusations of harassment and racial insensitivity, both during his career and after his retirement. This appears to be just the latest incident in what has become a pattern of destructive and poor behavior over the past 20 years.