RIP Matt Dobek

This is an absolute shock. Matt was so well respected.

 

Makes it all the easier to despise a contemptible franchise, whose glory years were largely keyed
by a creep like Zeke.

 

I know of five instances where reporters have killed themselves in the last year, largely due to layoffs that created havoc in their families and personal lives. I'm sure there's tons more. It just rarely gets reported.

 

In May 2009, An iconic alt-rock DJ in Toronto offed himself after being fired. Posted a suicide note on Facebook.

 

Jesus. Doesn't Dobek's son write for the Free Press?

 

RIP. That's just awful.

 

This thread reminds me of the editorhoo thread from last year, and in particular Starman's fantastic post about why he attended editorhoo's funeral:

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/posts/2471818/

The money quote, summing up just how thin a line it is between forging onward after your dream job and profession has been yanked away from you by soulless, bound-for-hell scumbags, and being enveloped by the despair:

There are hundreds, probably thousands, of other Daves out there, and for the most part, their stories have simply disappeared into the darkness. In the future, there will be more; I may be one of them.

 

I went to school with Matt and knew him very slightly. Still, a shock, to say the very least.

 

Knew Matt quite well back in the '80s and '90s on the NBA beat. Saw him again last season for the first time in about 15 years. This is awful, devastating news. Truly one of the nicest men in the business -- at least as far as I know.

That the Pistons did what they did to him is awful. Worse, it led to today. Just horrible news.

 

I can't believe this shit. And I didn't realize Editorhoo killed himself as well.

This shit just ruins a day and makes you realize how fragile life is.

I knew Matt a little bit through work and all of my dealings with him were very positive.

RIP

 

It's a big reason why so many people in this business have to have a life outside of their jobs. I don't know that this was the case with Dobek, or Editorhoo, but after I got bought out, a friend who was on the same beat as me at a different paper, actually said to me, "If that happened to me, I wouldn't be able to go on. This job is my life."

I feel fortunate that I was able to identify myself as someone's husband and someone's father and that prevented me from ever feeling sorry for myself.

But I know five people who ended their lives largely due to layoffs in the industry and the impact that it had on them and their families. A few of them have had threads dedicated to them on this board, most without any clue what really happened, or because people were too respectful to mention how they ended their lives.

It's really sad.

 

Jack McCallum checks in with a thoughtful piece.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/jack_mccallum/08/23/matt.dobek/#ixzz0xSmbQN00