David Goodwillie needs no introduction in Scottish football.
For more than a decade his name has been chanted loud from the terraces.
But those chants have been as much about his off-field infamy as they have to do with any footballing prowess.
‘Club should hang its head in shame’
For Goodwillie is a rapist. He was found by a civil court to be such.
And now Raith Rovers have signed him up, willing to overlook his past behaviour in order to make advancement on the pitch.
The people at the club who are responsible for the decision should hang their heads in shame.
Where is the club’s sympathy for his victim – the woman who is carrying a legacy of trauma that will last a lifetime?
What example are they projecting on the impressionable young football fans who come through the turnstiles and see David Goodwillie idolised for scoring a goal?
Where is their moral compass?
Raith superfan Val McDermid has walked away from the club she loves in protest at Goodwillie’s signing.
She wrote on Twitter: “I have this morning ended my lifelong support of Raith Rovers over their signing of the rapist David Goodwillie.
“I have cancelled next season’s shirt sponsorship over this disgusting and despicable move.
“The thought of the rapist David Goodwillie running out on the pitch at Stark’s Park in a Raith Rovers shirt with my name on it makes me feel physically sick.
“This shatters any claim to be a community or family club.”
‘Raith Rovers has offered up its core values’
Going by the outcry on social media since the striker’s capture was announced, she is far from alone.
They are right to take a stand.
For 140 years, Raith Rovers has served its community proudly.
It has offered joy to its fans on the field, and there has been plenty of pain too.
But this is something else.
The club has knowingly walked down a road from which it will find it very hard to turn back.
It has offered up its core values – those principles which have served it so well for more than a century – for a sticking plaster on-field solution that will cheapen it forever.
David Goodwillie should not be welcome at Stark’s Park. Ever.
Raith should know that. They should not need to be told.
