Post Gazette beat guy in hot water

Yeah, that's pretty much the way I took it. I don't know this guy's personal history with misogynistic posts on here so I can't speak about him as a person. But the statement on it's own, other than being in poor taste, isn't untrue. Granted things have changed in the way the league deals with anyone involved in legal problems, but Ray Lewis was originally charged with murder and I don't think was disciplined by the league at all (not 100% sure on that). There is a somewhat irrational outrage over this Vick thing because it involved defenseless animals. Don't get me wrong what he did was disgusting, but I do think some people get more outraged over something like this with animals than crimes against humans.

 

Because their MEs want them to. Of course the same ME will then sack your ass if you say anything even remotely inflammatory.

 

Whether he's got a point or not is not the point.

The point is he is bringing up a brutal crime that happens every hour to our mothers, wives, daughters, sisters, friends...there's no point in bringing up that horrific crime in this instance. Come on guys.

 

These folks need to learn to self-edit before they speak.

Put the word "rape" somewhere on the shelf, maybe not as high as "shit" or worse. Then, do not utter it on air (and probably in public around people you don't know) until you have thought it over very carefully.

The problem is probably caused by asking or letting writers do something for which they really weren't trained.

 

His analogy was god-awful and uncalled for, but I think the gist of his point is true.

It's tough to imagine something more ugly and with more stink than dogfighting.

Let's face it, Vick could've been involved in the death of another human being and be in less hot water. Leonard Little got drunk and mowed down some poor lady in St. Louis. Ray Lewis knows something about those murders in Atlanta. Last I checked, they shed that stigma like so many blockers.

Dogfighting is disgusting. But NFL players have done uglier things to their fellow man and not gotten raked over the coals so badly.

 

Exactly DD....he was comparing the reaction of the public, not comparing dog fighting to rape. And he's correct, if Vick killed someone drunk driving, or was accused of rape, the reaction from the public probably wouldn't be as negative towards Vick.

In fact, this is what I said to Stoob on one of the original Vick threads. Americans love their pets!

 

Actually, when you think about it, it's hard to make the comparison. Not every rape case is the same.

* If a player was accused of statutory rape and there was DNA proving it was him: definite suspension.

* If it's the above without DNA proof: A tougher call, but you don't likely suspend him pending the outcome of the case if he's denying it.

* If a player is accused of rape, there is DNA proving he had sex with her but it's a he-said-she-said as to whether it was consensual: You can't suspend the guy until the legal process plays out.

* If it's the above and there's evidence of abuse and it's obvious that he inflicted the abuse: You probably suspend him pending the end of the legal process.

Unfortunately skin pigment and political lobbies play a part as well. If the alleged victim and the athlete both are white, the outcry isn't going to be as great. If the athlete is white and the alleged victim is black, Jesse Jackson and company will come out and criticize the athlete. All things being equal, I want the same outcry regardless of the amount of pigment in somebody's skin.

Obviously in the Vick case, PETA and the like have a huge impact on decisions by companies.

 

See, that's the problem. They want it both ways. They want blogs, with attitude and inside stuff and edge, but they still want those same beat writers to portray objectivity and to be fair in their coverage. Also, how is it that columnists generally get treated as if they have tenure? How many sports columnists work harder and adhere to more standards than the beat writers in their sections? (Don't be giving me individuals' names -- my hunch is, maybe 10 percent of columnists work as hard as or harder than their papers' beat guys, even though they get paid more and have more freedom to spew on these types of shows.)

That also is an ME problem. They create a star system that erodes morale and work ethic. Beat guy gets slapped around for doing what a columnist considers his birthright.

 

Writing well and speaking well are not automatic.

Some of the folks I work with who are very good writers spend to much time getting to the point that it's frustrating. Others just can't keep from checking themselves before they cuss or make a comment that would offend most people.

Luckily, even in the rush to get newspaper writers every media outlet, most of these guys haven't taken the bait.

 

Paul Zeise would have been better off raping Hitler on TV than making that comment.

 

Once you've brought Hitler into it, you've already lost. Didn't you know that?