Tyrone manager Mickey Harte has hit out at those criticising player Cathal McCarron over the release of his autobiography, Out of Control.
McCarron told the story of his addiction to gambling, and how it brought him close to the brink of destruction on several occasions.
In an interview with Off the Ball in December, McCarron told Ger Gilroy that: "At 16 years of age, I placed my first bet and I'd say within two years, I was a chronic compulsive gambler, and it took off from there."
The book, raw and honest, has been criticised by many for detailing some of the actions he took when he was at his lowest ebb, including stealing a chequebook from a neighbour to feed his addiction.
"It shows the power of gambling to hurt the people you love the most and are friendly with the most," McCarron told Gilroy, adding, "I couldn't see what was right and what was wrong because I was so ill. I was actually insane, and that's the way my mind was".
Furthermore, in July of last year, the Director of Public Prosecution decided not to prosecute McCarron after it emerged that he had met a 15-year-old girl on Tinder, accepting his defence of an "honest mistake".
McCarron, who was read a statement from the girl's family during the course of the interview, simply said: "I have no response. All I'm going to say is I was fully investigated by the law of Ireland, and there was no prosecution."
Addressing the release of the book after his side's 1-13 to 0-12 loss against Cavan on Sunday, manager Mickey Harte said that he didn't think that McCarron's story was entirely negative, despite the attention and criticism it has received.
"I don't think that at all, I think people are entitled to do what they will," Harte told Off the Ball's Oisin Langan. "I think it's not a negative book at all. In fact, I think if people read the book, they'll find it's a very positive story. It's the story of a man trying to redeem himself from something that he didn't really want to be in and found himself there.
"I think there's a lot of positives in that book. If a person decides that's the right thing for them to do, who am I to challenge that?
"There's a lot of people on the high moral ground, and you know, there must be a wild crowd of them there. They better watch out they don't fall off."
Turning to his own situation, Harte said that the fact that his deal was not extended beyond 2017 was not something that he had to get over, rather he wasn't too bothered by it at all.
"I said it disappointed me just, that's all. I'm not in charge of determining those outcomes, and I can only suggest what I think should happen, and if people choose to act differently, then that's their prerogative to do so. I'll work while I can here, and sure we'll see where it takes us.
"I never had to get over it. I live life in the now," Harte added. "I love every day that I have, and I thank God for it, and if somebody else wants to think too much about the future then they can do that. I like to live where I am.
"I don't feel pressure at all, I'm not interested in pressure. As somebody says pressure's for tyres and I'm not in that league at all. I do what I do to the best of my ability, and if people like it well and good, if they don't well sure that will suit me fine too."
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