I don’t mean for this blog to be about bashing the media, or bashing anything at all really, but this issue is somewhat related to the first one and I’ve been thinking about it for a while:
Sometimes the media protects their own, sometimes they unwittingly protect the ones they cover…
This is a touchy subject, but one that I think needs to be addressed. There is a very famous NFL player who has to sit out some games to begin the season. He’s a player with a somewhat checkered past. This isn’t even the first time he has been accused of something like this. Yet, he may be the luckiest player in the NFL. Not lucky because of anything he’s done, but lucky because of the attention placed on his life. Those who chronicle his life alter it remarkably. Often, he resents these people, but in this case they saved him. Their mere presence allowed him to move past one of the most damning experiences of his life. A time in his life that he wished to keep quiet was forgotten because so many wanted to talk about it. Gossip killed justice.
In this case, it appears that the relentless and selfish pursuit of the scoop got in the way of the noble pursuit of justice. Is that the media’s fault or the fault of the audience? Do they fulfill a public hunger for knowledge or do they prepare an unhealthy buffet that we can’t resist? Either way, a star gets to return to his life of fame and fortune and a woman gets to return to the anonymity she so desired. But in exchange for what?
Maybe nothing criminal happened, maybe the worst happened. We will never know. We will never know because we all wanted to know and they were more than eager to tell us.
Note: "The Smoking Gun piece reveals that the lawyer for the accuser wrote a letter asking prosecutors not to pursue the case any further.
The attorney wrote:
'What is obvious in looking forward is that a criminal trial would be a very intrusive personal experience for a complainant in this situation, given the extraordinary media attention that would be inevitable.'" (nowpublic.com)
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Unheard of Silence
First, let me say that the situation involving Jay Mariotti is a terrible ordeal and I hope the woman involved was not hurt. I really hope it was blown out of proportion and Mariotti really didn’t do anything. Even so, I really feel no remorse for jumping to conclusions. That’s what Mariotti does everyday. Had this happened to a famous athlete, he would have sat on his high horse and railed against the guy to no end. He would say the athlete’s a terrible human being and should be kicked out of the league. It would be evidence of a wide-ranging problem to which only he had the answer.
It’s going to be really frustrating to see how ESPN responds to this. Were it an athlete, Rachel Nichols would be in their front yard and they would hound and hound until they got some sort of answer. But, in this case it will be swept under the rug. They did acknowledge it on SportsCenter, but since it’s one of their own, they’ll probably wait until all the details are out and they have the true story before they report anymore on it. If they report on it at all. Can you imagine it? A news outlet respecting someone’s privacy? Only when it’s one of their own.
I do realize that ESPN is a business. Their main reason for existence is not to report on and broadcast sports. It’s to make money. Vilifying one of their own makes no business sense, so there’s no way they’ll do it. That’s their prerogative. What worries me is that all sports media will protect Mariotti because the media protects themselves above all other. Say something bad about the media and prepare to be dragged through the mud. Remember when Mark Cuban bad-mouthed the media? They didn’t respond to what he said or even say it was a ridiculous statement. All they did was personally attack him. So, when someone in the media screws up it brings to reality that news outlets aren’t around to keep us informed or entertain. Thier primary purpose is to make sure they look good in order to keep the money rolling in.
Even if it comes out later that Mariotti was falsely accused and is innocent, the damage is done. He will never be seen on ESPN again.
I think what really bothers me is that they know we are curious. They know what we want to know. Yet, this is the only instance that they aren’t delighted to divulge.
It’s going to be really frustrating to see how ESPN responds to this. Were it an athlete, Rachel Nichols would be in their front yard and they would hound and hound until they got some sort of answer. But, in this case it will be swept under the rug. They did acknowledge it on SportsCenter, but since it’s one of their own, they’ll probably wait until all the details are out and they have the true story before they report anymore on it. If they report on it at all. Can you imagine it? A news outlet respecting someone’s privacy? Only when it’s one of their own.
I do realize that ESPN is a business. Their main reason for existence is not to report on and broadcast sports. It’s to make money. Vilifying one of their own makes no business sense, so there’s no way they’ll do it. That’s their prerogative. What worries me is that all sports media will protect Mariotti because the media protects themselves above all other. Say something bad about the media and prepare to be dragged through the mud. Remember when Mark Cuban bad-mouthed the media? They didn’t respond to what he said or even say it was a ridiculous statement. All they did was personally attack him. So, when someone in the media screws up it brings to reality that news outlets aren’t around to keep us informed or entertain. Thier primary purpose is to make sure they look good in order to keep the money rolling in.
Even if it comes out later that Mariotti was falsely accused and is innocent, the damage is done. He will never be seen on ESPN again.
I think what really bothers me is that they know we are curious. They know what we want to know. Yet, this is the only instance that they aren’t delighted to divulge.
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