MovieChat Forums > Bend It Like Beckham (2003) Discussion > If this had been set in the U.S. rather ...

If this had been set in the U.S. rather than Britain...

posted 12 years ago by jaystarstar
11 replies | jump to latest

Joe would have been at the very least fired from his coaching job (especially if he was coaching high school sports), and possibly even arrested, for carrying on a romantic relationship with one (almost two) of his players.

If you are a male coaching high-school age female players (male too for that matter) in any sport, that is one of the absolute first things you learn -- you cannot carry on any sort of romantic or sexual pursuit of your players, at all -- you cannot even allow any hint of suggestion it might be going on.

Therefore if he was taking his team to any tournament out of state or something (like the German tournament in BILB) he would have to bring along a couple of player mothers to act as chaperones. He would simply not be allowed to take players out to a nightclub.

Of course high school age girls would not be allowed in an alcohol nightclub anyway.

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4) You ever seen Superman $#$# his pants? Case closed.

[–] fortelaisha 12 years ago

While I did start out thinking the same way that you did about Joe during the beginning parts of the movie, I ended up realizing that I was actually incorrect.

I'll start off with the fact that he was not coaching a high school team. He was coaching a local sports team that people in the UK would call a football club. It is in no way associated with a school.

Now, had he carried a romantic relationship with Jules in the time before the movie takes place, it would be unprofessional, yes, but not at all illegal as long as she was it least sixteen (the UK's age of consent). But that "relationship", in my opinion, never happened. To me it seemed like Jules had fallen for Joe, an unrequited love situation. She never let him know that she felt that way towards him and they never acted on it. She let herself believe that there was more there than there actually was.

So onto the point about Joe "needing to bring a couple of the players mothers" to Germany. As I said, they are all out of high school and are free to do as they please. The legal age of drinking (and clubbing) in most of Europe is eighteen so being in that nightclub was perfectly legal (as was the beer that Jules had in the beginning of the movie).

I hope that I didn't sound mean during any part of this post, I was just clearing up some things :).

[–] marlarkey 12 years ago

In the UK it would probably be illegal as the legislation does not just apply to school staff and students but applies to any situation where an adult is in a position of trust working with a minor.

For instance, my son (18 years old) is a sailing instructor and was working over the summer at a youth activity centre. In order to instruct children he had to go through a criminal record check and vetting process. Any relationship in that situation (eg an 18 year old with say a 17 year old) would be illegal because he would be in a position of trust.

[–] isis_maat 12 years ago

I assumed they were all at least 18...Jess is waiting to start university, and she and Jules head off to the University of Santa Clara at the end of the movie.

An idea is a greater monument than a cathedral.

[–] marlarkey 12 years ago

Doesn't matter... I think even if she is 18, if she is in a school setting then it would be illegal for a working in a position of trust to form a relationship...

There have been many cases about this.

[–] Mel204 12 years ago

But it is not a school setting.

[–] jaystarstar 10 years ago

The girls are high school age -- presumably it is a U18 team -- since they enter a US university as freshmen the next fall.

And any coach of ANY US U18 girls team in any sport would get in tons of trouble if he carried on any kind of romance with any of his players.

It would be WORSE if it was a school team, but still bad if it was an independent club.

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4) You ever seen Superman $#$# his pants? Case closed.

[–] hppg 10 years ago

Pretty sure that's not true. It was a community club. They had both just finished school and were quite possibly 18. I don't think there are any laws against it. It might be "wrong", but I don't think it was illegal. If it had been a school team, yes, but it wasn't. Was it even a youth team? Wasn't it just a general open women's team? I'm not sure if there are laws on that, it might be looked down on or go against coaching principles if they are under 18 but people do date coaches frequently in community groups. The age of consent certainly isn't 18.

What's the age for night club entry in Germany? I think you can get in at 16 if you leave before midnight. If not, 18, then I guess they were 18. Does it say their ages? I can't remember.

[–] JWJanneck 10 years ago

Over here, that's the whole point of coaching a girl's team in the first place. Different cultures, I s'pose.

[–] jaystarstar 9 years ago

Well I know Britain does not have high school sports comparable to the U.S. but even if it was a U20 team and all the players were "legal" in terms of age of consent, if the male coach is in a "position of authority" he woul be subject to several kinds of sexual misconduct charges if he actively pursued any players romantically.

[–] hppg 8 years ago

Yeah, I'm assuming they have the "position of authority" thing in the UK too, but I'd be surprised if it applied to an adult, non-school team with adult players and an adult coach, because the authority isn't quite the same as when there are minors involved, nor it is a school/university setting with a certain hierarchy.
Having said that, it did seem to be against club rules/code of conduct, as Jules makes reference to the fact that he is not allowed to date (or "shag", as she said) players. That didn't stop her pursuing him, and clearly he was also willing to take the risk with Jess. I think the only consequence would be him losing his position though, it wouldn't be a criminal issue or a public issue.

[–] Scorpion_Deathlock 8 years ago

... it would have been called "Throw it Like Brady."