We're still awaiting to see who, if anyone, will join Justin Harrison out of our club but the (previously well informed) rumour mill suggests it will be another four or five players.

Obviously the story so far has focused on the potentially disgraced players and what they may or may not have done but now, I think, is the time to start thinking about a few other people.

First and foremost we should have a thought for the players not caught up in this affair. At present, not knowing names (for sure) means that the whole squad is under suspicion and because of the way the process has been handled the innocent parties cannot proclaim their innocence publically. This must be a nightmare for the innocent players and their families as the finger of suspicion points at no one in particular.

Secondly there is the management at Bath Rugby. In the process of building a team of which we can all be proud, a stadium which reflects our status as a world renowned club in the heart of our City and a financially secure future in very precarious times they are having to be deflected by the immature and amateur antics of a small minority of the club's most valuable asset - the players. Some of us may not agree with how the management is handling some or all of these issues but one thing I have no doubt we'd all agree about is that we want them to have no unnecessary distractions from achieving their aims.

Thirdly there is us, the fans or supporters (depending on which term you prefer). Despite what our friends in Bristol would like to proclaim we are, by and large, a loyal bunch who follow our club through thick and thin. However young or old we may be, the players who don the Blue, Black and White are our sporting heroes: they represent our dreams, our City but most of all they represent us.

Being hurt by a member of your family is very painful, however extended that family may be, and those caught up in this present scandal are responsible for hurting all of us. However the strength of family life lies in forgiving those who hurt you, maybe not immediately but over a period of time. A reason for this is that they may not have set out to cause hurt and it's important to remember the good times and not just the bad.

Can we move on after this situation has died down? Of course we can. Can we forgive those who may have brought shame on our club? Of course we can because we'll focus on the good times. Will it be easy and immediate? No, but we'll do it.

We all handle disappointment in different ways. Some of us get angry and react immediately, others are angry but suffer in silence. Many of us don't want to discuss the issues and prefer for them to be resolved quietly to reduce the impact on everyone. I imagine all of us actually just want a quiet life, watching rugby and debating the matches without any off-field controversy. After all, it's supposed to be a relaxing past-time!

It was about this time some 13 years ago that the (then) members of Bath FC were called to the Pavilion to be told by the players that we had to support them as they wished to move in to a professional era. It was made very clear that if we didn't vote for the club to "turn professional" the star players would leave for clubs who would vote in this manner. We had no choice with (if I remember rightly) just 8 of the 600 (or so) voting against the proposal.

Unfortunately these days professionalism just seems to stand for getting paid officially for playing rugby. It's about time those professionals(sic) who have disgraced themselves and our club understand that professionalism actually means more than money and the values of honesty, integrity and loyalty are priceless and without them the money brings little joy.

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