Benefit of the Doubt
The rush-to-judgment media coverage of athletes shows there are more than a few lessons still to be learned
2007-12-12
By Patrice Evans
Last week the NY Times reported that two of the four men charged with the murder of Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor were linked to a burglary of his home a week prior, thereby bringing the tragic narrative full circle. The lingering question of whether or not Taylor's death was an accident or tied to people from his past could be laid to rest along with the beloved safety himself.
While the investigation on Taylor's death remains open, and the prosecution of the four intruders -- three teenagers, one 20-year old -- remains pending, the judgment on the media has been blasted loud and clear. During Taylor's funeral, admonishments that the "media should be ashamed" were greeted with rousing ovations. Columnists like Leonard Shapiro and Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post, Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star, and Radio talk show hosts Mike The Mad Dog, and Colin Cowherd have been rained with criticism by media watchdogs, other journalists, and bloggers. And in a media rarity, in light of the news confirming the accidental nature of the crime last week you could find apologies both convoluted and earnest, from those who didn't even necessarily say, but thought the wrong thing.
Not everyone has tried to right the now obvious incorrect rush to judgment, most conspicuously the black journalists who spoke out have remained silent. Nevertheless, the backlash has felt like a release of steam from a kettle that has boiled over with exasperation from the
on-going problem of media coverage of black athletes.
Of course to note media mishandling coverage of black athletes as a trend would be an understatement along the lines of saying the Patriots have made a trend of winning the last few seasons. Josh Levin's recent critical analysis of Sports Illustrated notes the magazine's ambitious attempt at telling the "real" story of the black athlete going back as far as 1968. The more things change, the
more things stay the same.
While the problems then were about fair compensation and opportunity, the problems now have become more nuanced. For example, MSM has shown a penchant for ignoring stories that lack the "Thug Framework." ESPN Page 2 columnist LZ Granderson notes how stories on Eddy Curry, Antoine Walker, Phillip Buchanon as victims of attack within their own homes were buried amongst items like Greg Oden's tonsillectomy or the Croatian Open. No entourages, nor are they the biggest names on the sports landscape, but they're certainly as well known as Tank Johnson, Pacman Jones, or Chris Henry all secondary players who have received a lot of spotlight for their lifestyle and legal issues.
Certainly when a story is not being ignored there's the ever-gray issue of black athletes vs. white athletes and the relative balance of attention afforded to whom.
USA Today columnist Hal Bodley jumped for joy when Rick Ankiel seemed the panacea for "the draining controversy surrounding Barry Bonds' summer-long chase of Hank Aaron's mystical home run record" and dedicated a whole column to the story. When Ankiel's storybook return was compromised by reports of him using HGH, Bodley only gave the
downfall one line in a larger column on Bonds and the scandal in general.
Another glaring example of overlooking mistakes of white athletes comes with Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Brett Myers. As the Phillies went on their dream run into the playoffs this past baseball season, the same journalists who boldly puncture even the most tragic of situations with their pointed "objectivity," were not compelled to
once remind fans that the closer and perhaps best pitcher on the team was someone who beat his wife on a public street, with a closed fist. The incident happened in '06 and early in '07 Myers was rewarded with a 3-year $25M contract. Apparently Myers' past, unlike that of say Sean Taylor, is allowed to be forgotten.
These are only a few examples, but there are now sites/blogs dedicated to pointing out imbalance in media coverage. The Starting 5, Sports On My Mind, Cosellout are three doing diligent journalistic-style reporting and their archives and comments offer an enlightening look at the sports world from a different perspective.
Of course mainstream media is beholden to mainstream consumers, but the Sean Taylor story proves that unfair reporting is not just a simple white-media black-athlete issue. The array of people who rushed to judgment included former teammate and black athlete Antrel Rolle, along with the aforementioned black journalists. And we have a
whole entertainment culture that can gloss over "people" or pertinent details for headlines and jokes. So the million-dollar question is how to move forward from here.
A recent column from AOL Fanhouse blogger "Bethlehem Shoals" takes a shot at the relation of the media to NBA players, "No journalist can claim true "objectivity" when human nature dictates that our personal backgrounds will color our understanding of others. As fans, we know there is a cultural gap between ourselves and NBA players. Why should we expect middle-aged white journalists to be able to close that gap and show us an "objective" analysis of how two athletes interact in the heat of a moment?"
This cultural gap is not just restricted to the NBA, it applies to all sports. And it applies to all races. Certainly blacks in the NBA and NFL, but also Latinos in baseball, and Chinese and Japanese are becoming more prominent in MLB and the NBA. We are in the midst of a burgeoning multicultural era, and the intent is not to indict these writers/journalists and put *asterisks* around all their stories. The point is to make them aware and prod them out of their comfort zone.
When a journalist with a middle-class suburban life takes a shot at a person or people he knows little about, that's as simple-minded as "thugs" using the only means they've been exposed to. There's "thugs," and then there's "thug journalism." Both of them are narrow-minded reflections of your lifestyle.
I think one positive result from the Sean Taylor debacle will be "Thug Journalism" going the way of tight basketball shorts. With so much attention on how writers stereotype when packaging a story, and in light of how tragic this story was, how can any self-respecting writer get away with using the broad and over-used "thug" card.
Getting back to Shoals challenging of journalist "objectivity," perhaps it is time to address that existential bugaboo in a more tangible way. Newspapers need not become blogs with regards to the mantra of "transparency," but every reporter has a background that frames his storytelling. Writer's bylines should contain more disclosure. Business and finance writers are expected to share their affiliations and biases, why not sports writers? If you hail from Oakland versus being raised in the sticks of Indiana is an important distinction in a story on Stephen Jackson.
Of course there's no substitute for more minority voices. David Aldridge, the Peter Gammons of the NBA, says in this interview:
I hope we can all continue to press the need in the news rooms, on TV and everywhere else in the media that diversity is not some quaint notion–it's a necessity... Until APSE and organizations like that make it a priority, I don't know what's going to happen.
More black and minority journalists to cover black and minority athletes is a no-brainer. Perhaps some derivative of The Rooney Rule for sports journalism is in order. Or as Aldridge mentions later in the same interview, more programs to groom aspiring journalists who may be short on "chops" but long on unique perspective.
Looking back, the Sean Taylor story highlights the obstacles media still needs to overcome in fulfilling their mission of "fair-and-balanced" reporting, but also reveals evidence of hope and the promise of continuing change. The diversity and ethic of responsible reporting and commentary played a role in eventually righting the wrong. Now we just have to work on integrating that diversity and ethic so that it manifests earlier in the process.
Patrice Evans (aka The Assimilated Negro) is a writer, blogger and EbonyJet.com contributor whose work has appeared in Gawker, Time Out New York and The New York Times. His blog is www.theassimilatednegro.blogspot.com.
