Opelika-Auburn News runs photo of awful Treadwell injury on sports front

Not sure which is worse, the decision to run the photo of the Ole Miss kid's gruesome injury on the front of your sports section combined with that headline or their explanation of why they ran it. Let's just say Auburn fans weren't pleased with either of the paper's decisions.

http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2014-11-02/opelika-auburn-paper-laquon-treadwell-front-page-finding-way-ole-miss-fumble-injury

Opelika-Auburn News' explanation:

http://www.oanow.com/opinion/editorials/article_78cb2a08-62e6-11e4-b538-0017a43b2370.html

Other than the sensationalism of running that photo, not sure why you'd choose that one. Thoughts?

 

I get the thinking that it was the defining play of the game, but sometimes it doesn't hurt to error on the side of caution. You don't want to be seen celebrating the injury. The context, more than the content, seems to be the problem here.
On a scale of 1 to Joe Theismann, though, the gruesomeness of that injury rates about a 1.5. Even in that photo that captures the moment, it looks more like he's dragging his foot behind him than getting his leg broken. From a visceral standpoint, I have no problem with it.

 

It was the key play of the game. Not sure an angle existed that didn't show the injury. Maybe they could have ran a shot of the fumble recovery?

 

The comments are insane.
It's not like bone was showing.

 

I didn't see it live because we didn't have cable in the office (don't ask). But when I found the play online, I expected a lot worse than what happened. Same with Julius Randle's broken leg last week. You could barely tell something bad happened.

 

Dumb headline, but it was unquestionably the play of the game. NOT running a photo from said play would have been a bigger mistake.

rb

 

The "sensationalism" lies with the millennial moralists and their middle-aged media enablers who think they're protecting the sacred youth of mankind by eulogizing an ankle injury. The headline isn't great, but postgame football headlines usually aren't.

We're a pretty damn peculiar society when the capture of a common -- if season-ending -- football injury inspires more outrage than any of the daily BS transpiring in our nation.

 

Alternative headlines I came up with:

Tough Break
Twist of Fate
Lucky Break
God Hates Ankles
Rebel Yell

rb

 

Just spitballing here, but couldn't they have cropped that photo at Treadwell's knees?

I guess that would have also cut the end zone out of the photo, though.

 

I thought about that, too, o' great gin-curdled Southpaw former QB. And then I remember how I once got RIPPED by a photo editor for cropping out body parts -- even maimed ones like this.

rb

 

The photo was the defining moment of the game and have no problem with it being there.
The headline is for shit.

 

No problem with running the photo.

Huge problem with "Finding a Way," as if some poor kid snapping his ankle was somehow part of Auburn's grand scheme to win the game.

And Gus Malzahn has now passed Les Miles as the luckiest SOB in college football.