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Ennis-Hill 'shocked' by backlash after Ched Evans stance

Jessica Ennis-Hill recently gave birth to her first son but is determined to defend her Olympic title in Rio © PA Photos

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Jessica Ennis-Hill has admitted she was shocked by the level of online abuse she received after urging Sheffield United to not re-sign convicted rapist Ched Evans.

Ennis-Hill, the Olympic heptathlon champion, spoke out after Evans began training with the club following his release from prison; he served half of a five-year sentence for raping a 19-year-old woman in north Wales in 2011.

After initially considering the possibility of re-signing Evans, who continues to protest his innocence, widespread criticism prompted a U-turn from Sheffield United that led to the Welsh midfielder being barred from using the club's facilities.

'London 2012 will be hard to top'

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  Jessica Ennis-Hill's campaign to defend her Olympic heptathlon title is well underway after giving birth to her first child, Reggie, in July.
• "It's hard getting up when you have not had much sleep but I really want to have this last push in my career," she admitted. "I'm looking forward to the Olympics, I really want to be there and want to be a contender and that's what keeps me motivated.
• "I have two years to get the work done and get where I was, I'm still the competitive person I was and I really hope I can contend for a gold medal.
• "London 2012 was fantastic and it will be very hard to top, but if I am able to get work done and get to Rio and win a gold medal having had a child, that would be unbelievable."

One of the stands at Brammall Lane is named after Ennis-Hill to honour her London 2012 triumph, but the 28-year-old requested that her name be removed should Evans return to the club, sparking a wave of abusive messages via social media.

"It was definitely a shock," Ennis-Hill told BBC Sport. "It was not very nice to read them but unfortunately that's the world we live in. You kind of have to keep focused on who you are and what you believe in, and try not to read too much into it.

"You can't spend hours going through your Twitter feed and reading everything every single person says to you. You need to get on with your life."

Ennis-Hill insists she did not intend to sway Sheffield United's decision with her statement but rather she felt obliged to voice her opinion, given her status as a high-prolife female athlete and a patron of the club.

"I knew I was in a position where I was going to upset someone whether I said something or didn't," Ennis-Hill said. "It wasn't about putting pressure on the club or anything like that - it was just simply about how I felt.

"People can be rehabilitated and if they have served time in jail can go back into society, but I just feel that when you are in a really privileged position it's quite different."

In her original statement released in November, Ennis-Hill said: "Being a role model to young people is a huge honour and those in positions of influence in communities should respect the role they play in young people's lives and set a good example. If Evans was to be re-signed by the club it would completely contradict these beliefs."

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