The life of Wigan striker Marlon King who's jailed for punching woman WITH earnings of more than £1 million ($2.3 million) a year, he was living life in the fast lane.

He had fancy cars, fancy clothes and a loyal wife who was expecting his third child at the time.

You would have thought Wigan Athletic striker Marlon King would have no reason to walk into a bar and attack a young woman after she rebuffed his advances. He broke her nose after groping her in October last year.

What a criminal waste of talent.

King, 29, was sentenced to 18 months' jail for sexual assault and causing bodily harm yesterday.

His English Premiership club has sacked him, saying he will never play for them again.

Working for a foreign club or travelling for international duty with Jamaica will be nearly impossible too as he is now on the national database for sex offenders.

The sentence will effectively end his career that saw him play for well-known clubs like Hull City, Watford and Middlesbrough.

But what sort of person would throw away a gilded life?

Wigan chairman Dave Whelan gave a glimpse into the character of the man who already had many brushes with the law and had been given many second chances because of his talent, reported the Sun.

Whelan said: "I always questioned whether he put his heart and soul into being a professional footballer. I regret the day we ever signed him. "

"We sent him out on loan and tried to off-load him -which tells you what I thought of him.

"I sat him down before the start of this season and said 'Marlon, this is your last chance to make an impression at this club. I want you to stand up and show me you are a professional footballer'."

Last chance gone

Now, even that last chance saloon is gone. Since the age of 17, King has been to court on many occasions. In one of them, he was jailed - for receiving a stolen £30,000 BMW.His 18 months' sentence was reduced to nine on appeal. Most of the time, he was fined.

His violence, though, was directed only at women.

He chased two women, who claimed they did not know him, through London with a belt wrapped round his fist in 2003.

Three years later he was convicted of threatening behaviour after slapping another woman on her bottom and head and then spitting at her when police arrived.

His first stint in prison interrupted what was a successful spell at Gillingham, where he moved to after beginning his professional career at Barnet.

The club gave King another chance following his first stint in prison and he went on to earn a move to Nottingham Forest.

Perhaps the highlight of his career was helping Watford gain promotion in 2005/6 and performing well in his first Premier League season, showing good pace and finishing ability in a campaign hampered by injury.

But after Watford was relegated, he could not replicate his success at Wigan, nor during loan spells at Hull City and Middlesbrough.

Chances are, King is unlikely to learn for his latest lesson, just like the rest.

He has not apologised to the woman he battered.

"You have shown not a hint of shame at your disgraceful and arrogant behaviour," said Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith after he was found guilty.

King still claims it was all a case of mistaken identity, despite a string of witnesses saying they saw him do it.

Mr Ryan Watts, a former colleague of the striker who witnessed the incident, told the court: "I watch a lot of football and I play a lot of football."

"I knew it was Marlon King because I was on trial for Watford FC for two months when he played there."

King's agent Tony Finnegan said King has no intention of conceding his guilt, reported AFP.

"No one saw this coming in light of the evidence.

He's very, very disappointed - because clearly, as he said in his evidence, it's mistaken identity. He didn't do that," Mr Finnegan told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"He'll be devastated, sitting in a cell with someone tonight. But he's a grown man; he's been there before and he'll take it on the chin.

"I asked Marlon and he said 'I'm not guilty, Tony - I didn't do it. I want the British justice system to find me not guilty'."

King is the latest Premiership player to have been jailed for violence. In May last year, Newcastle United midfielder Joey Barton was jailed six months for beating up a teenager.

This article was first published in The New Paper.