A charity chosen to benefit from the first Bermuda Golf Classic has no concerns about Lawrence Taylor’s potential role in the tournament.

One of the greatest players to have played in the National Football League, Taylor was sentenced to six years probation in 2011 after pleading guilty to sexual misconduct and patronising a prostitute.

The girl concerned turned out to the just 16, although at his trial Taylor claimed she told him she was 19. He was also declared a low-risk sex offender.

There had been some suggestions that the Coalition for the Protection of Children, one of the charities chosen by Classic organisers, would distance themselves from the event over fears that Taylor was to play a prominent role in the tournament.

However, Sheelagh Cooper, the charity’s founder, dismissed that and said her initial fears had been based on “the wholly inaccurate information” that Taylor was the Classic’s “headliner”.

“I have spoken to the organisers and he [Taylor] is not a headliner and may not even come to Bermuda. My perception of the situation has changed entirely,” Ms Cooper said. “I’m very disappointed that I was misled, and feel badly for the organisers because it has coloured people’s perception of the tournament unfairly.

“We have a very strong belief in restorative justice, in any event, that’s a big part of a lot of the work that we do. We do believe that people can redeem themselves and, indeed, we have a programme called Circles of Support and Accountability, which is a support system for people who have done prison time for sexual offences.”

Whether Taylor even gets to play in April is still very much open to debate. His probation does not run out until 2017, and lawyers are still trying to ascertain if he is allowed to travel outside of the United States.

Organisers have not even spoken to him personally, with Taylor’s name being put forward for the Classic by a group of former players, including Hall of Famer Bruce Smith and Cornelius Bennett, who played for 14 years in the NFL, who he plays golf with.

“I’ve never spoken to LT [Taylor] about this, I never received an email from LT, he was just on the list of a group of NFL players that play golf together,” Brady Whittingham, one of the Classic organisers, said.

“If it is important to them that LT be invited, then we’re not going to argue with his legal trouble, because the players that are coming from South Florida are ambassadors for Bermuda already and they’ve never been.

“Ultimately though we will respect the Island’s input. If people feel that they want to celebrate Lawrence Taylor the NFL player, then great. If the general feeling is that this isn’t a good fit, then we’ll respect that too. We’ll take our lead from the Island.”