1. Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

SportsFanLive.com Exclusive: Sex Offense Clouds NFL Draft Status Of Lineman

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by JennaLaine, Mar 9, 2010.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
Page 6 of 8
  1. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    I thought it was a good story and it interested me. But I have a lot of questions. Aside from the identify of the victim concerns people have already raised, I had other questions. The skeptic in me looked at the sources and the quotes and I naturally wondered if this was a press release of sorts originating with the two coaches trying to help their kid. It sure read that way to me, but I can't say for sure without knowing how the story was reported. The only sources on the record are the kid himself (but not even very much from him. Was it something directly from him face to face? I wondered.), the kid's JC coach, his DII coach (introducing other people to the story without any evidence you had independently verified anything with those people. The quotes saying the police chief had even approved of the kid transferring, for example; but nothing from the police chief himself). They are all vested in the kid looking good. By the time we get to the expert on juvenile sex crimes, it is buried so deep and supported the kid so much that I wondered if this was an "expert" that had been fed to her by the coach, because they knew his view was favorable to the kid. It was just a suspicion. I'd love to know. The anonymous NFL scouts didn't add anything for me, either. And the stuff meant to bolster his draft status -- working out with the Fellowship of Christian athletes guy, and his choice of agent, are all fed to us by the coach again, not by what looked like independent reporting. In fact, those guys aren't even quoted directly. They are all a matter of the coach telling us "Hey, he did this, this and this. Do you see how great a kid he is?" I guess my biggest question is how much of this was the two coaches leading her through the story, and was there any independent reporting done to verify what they said? Did you investigate the kid's character independently of what people who obviously want the kid to succeed were telling you? If so, why does it all read like a lot of information being fed through the filter of the two coaches who are putting their spin on it?
     
    The Big Ragu, Mar 10, 2010
    #61
  2. beardpuller

    beardpuller Active Member

    I understand and can agree with some of the criticisms posted here, particularly the self-promotion angle. But anybody who doesn't think the idea that a player who is (apparently) likely to be drafted by an NFL team this year might have his draft status affected by the fact that he is a registered sex offender ... hey, if that's not a story to you, I don't know what to say. Leaving aside the specifying of the sister.
     
    beardpuller, Mar 10, 2010
    #62
  3. Point of Order

    Point of Order Active Member

    Prosecutors, not courts, make the decisions on whom to charge with what. And they often use bothersome reasons in making those decisions.
     
    Point of Order, Mar 10, 2010
    #63
  4. mustangj17

    mustangj17 Active Member

    I'm not going to let this bother me Moddy, because I wasn't going after our poster or her article or anything like that. Just making a joke. I never claimed to be funny.

    Nothing worse than any of the lumps I took when I was a newbie here.
     
    mustangj17, Mar 10, 2010
    #64
  5. dooley_womack1

    dooley_womack1 Well-Known Member

    'stang, you'll always be a newbie to me. :D
     
    dooley_womack1, Mar 10, 2010
    #65
  6. heyabbott

    heyabbott Well-Known Member

    If he moves from Texas, he can get off the registry as he no longer resides in Texas.

    Jenna, could you find out what the statutory citation is for the offense for which he was convicted. Did the defense attempt to have him tried as a juvenile?

    Did you talk to Dr. Fred Berlin yourself?
     
    heyabbott, Mar 10, 2010
    #66
  7. mustangj17

    mustangj17 Active Member

    Total time logged in: 39 days, 19 hours and 43 minutes.
    Total time needed logged to reach Dooley's Status: 11 years 302 days, 4 hours, seven minutes.
    ;D ;D
     
    mustangj17, Mar 10, 2010
    #67
  8. Lugnuts

    Lugnuts Well-Known Member

    Oh boy - tough one. The first thing Jenna needs to know is, as others have pointed out, what made it a crime?

    Was it statutory rape, incest or both?

    I know the age of consent is fairly high in some Southern states.

    Jenna, it appears you may really have what it takes to be a fine reporter, but if you're going to stick with sports, it might behoove you to learn court reporting. Sad as that is.

    But let's face it, folks. It's the incest part of this story that makes it so compelling, right?

    Football prospect convicted of statutory rape at age 16? Eh. That story's been done. Ho hum.

    Football prospect convicted of sex with his sister? Well....... That's going to make some NFL folks think twice about this kid.

    Jenna, the problem is, you cannot cannot cannot out the victim of sexual assault. Even an alleged sexual assault. That's Journalism 101. I don't care who else is doing it on the web. Look carefully at the reporting on the Roethlisberger story.

    Promoting yourself-- horrors! ;D -- is actually a good thing. No reason to be ashamed of that. You've got hustle, lady.

    But here you've promoted a story in which you've done something ethically questionable. When you post your link like that, I'd make sure you're buttoned up to high hell on your story. Otherwise a hiring manager might remember your name -- oh yeah, the gal who outed the victim of a sex assault.

    Best wishes, Jenna, and don't worry... if you're like the rest of us, you'll probably make a few more doozies before it's all over. You just drive right past the roadkill and keep on going.
     
    Lugnuts, Mar 10, 2010
    #68
  9. spup1122

    spup1122 New Member

    The story has made it to Deadspin:

    http://deadspin.com/5490101/report-nfl-draft-prospect-once-put-his-tremendous-upside-in-his-sister
     
    spup1122, Mar 10, 2010
    #69
  10. andyouare?

    andyouare? Guest

    Proving once again the kind of childish dickheads that work at deadspin. That headline is just hilarious! High-five douche bag.
     
    andyouare?, Mar 10, 2010
    #70
  11. mustangj17

    mustangj17 Active Member

    In poor taste. I still laughed though.
     
    mustangj17, Mar 10, 2010
    #71
  12. Lugnuts

    Lugnuts Well-Known Member

    Yeah - as long as it's not your daughter. How funny.

    She's apparently a daughter nobody cares about.
     
    Lugnuts, Mar 10, 2010
    #72
Page 6 of 8
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page