Next Up: Sepp Blatter

[Moderator1]

The accusation comes from Hope Solo

Hope Solo accuses Sepp Blatter of sexual assault at awards ceremony

 

[Michael_ Gee]

On the one hand, everybody knows this is absolutely the sort of thing Blatter might do. He's scum. On the other, we all know Solo is well, a trifle unstable. Not saying I don't believe her, but her credibility as a witness is not spotless IMO.

 

[Elliotte Friedman]

On the one hand, everybody knows this is absolutely the sort of thing Blatter might do. He's scum. On the other, we all know Solo is well, a trifle unstable. Not saying I don't believe her, but her credibility as a witness is not spotless IMO.

I don't disagree, but her comments about players marrying their coaches or other support staff are very interesting.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

I don't disagree, but her comments about players marrying their coaches or other support staff are very interesting.

Oh, disaffected people prone to anger often make the best witnesses. Every word she says could be the stone truth.

 

[Jake_Taylor]

The Jose Canseco of soccer?

 

[Webster]

Hope Solo sounds like a good night for Louis C.K.

 

[SpeedTchr]

Maybe he was in her cups.

 

[Big Circus]

Whenever I saw Blatter’s name, I used to reflexively think of the Biggie line, “The next bat-ter, here to shat-ter your blat-ter.” Is that problematic now?

 

[Dick Whitman]

I’m sorry, but this **** is absolutely out of control. He allegedly grabbed her ass. That’s bad. He’s a heel if it’s true.

But now every headline I see, including this one and the one in my print paper this morning, blares something like, “Solo accuses Blatter of ‘13 sexual assault.”

For grabbing her ass.

It’s misleading. It’s sensationalism. And every news outlet in America seems to have bought into it because the underlying issue is important.

 

[jr/shotglass]

You will note in comments for stories on this, it's the opportunity for the mouth-breathers to come out of the woodwork.

They couldn't point and snicker at Ashley Judd. They couldn't point and snicker at Julianne Moore. But Hope Solo? They can use her to show their disgust over sexual predators facing the music.

 

[Vombatus]

I’m sorry, but this **** is absolutely out of control. He allegedly grabbed her ass. That’s bad. He’s a heel if it’s true.

But now every headline I see, including this one and the one in my print paper this morning, blares something like, “Solo accuses Blatter of ‘13 sexual assault.”

For grabbing her ass.

It’s misleading. It’s sensationalism. And every news outlet in America seems to have bought into it because the underlying issue is important.

Ever had your ass grabbed?

That's sexual harassment in every HR department rule book.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Ever had your ass grabbed?

That's sexual harassment in every HR department rule book.

The headlines don’t say “harassment.”

 

[MisterCreosote]

You thought it was sexual assault when Ben Affleck did it.

 

[Vombatus]

The headlines don’t say “harassment.”

Ok. Got it, and I see where you were headed with this - as a matter of degrees of offensiveness, ass grabbing isn't assault.

But it's not too far, anatomy-wise, from ***** grabbing.

Aside from all the individual cases of these incidents being reported and hopefully prosecuted, the really good part of all this is maybe society will change and stop doing this thing in the first place.

 

[Dick Whitman]

You thought it was sexual assault when Ben Affleck did it.

That wasn’t my argument. It might have been, of course. But my point was I didn’t understand why it was “sexual assault” for Donald Trump and not Ben Affleck. This just furthers the confusion. It seems completely arbitrary.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Ok. Got it, and I see where you were headed with this - as a matter of degrees of offensiveness, ass grabbing isn't assault.

But it's not too far, anatomy-wise, from ***** grabbing.

It might be sexual assault. Sexual assault covers a lengthy continuum of behavior and the definition varies by state. The phrase conveys very little information to readers while tending to mislead, sometimes severely.

 

[MisterCreosote]

As I’ve said before, it comes with the territory when covering something so nebulous.

Especially something that was purposely made nebulous by unwitting enablers.

 

[Dick Whitman]

As I’ve said before, it comes with the territory when covering something so nebulous.

It doesn’t have to. These are conscious choices, and I’d steer well clear of casually sticking into a headline or lede a legal term of art that most readers think is a euphemism for rape.

 

[Dick Whitman]

I realize I am fighting for a lost cause. I still think it’s noble. Journalists should strive to convey information as clearly, accurately, and completely as possible given their constraints, and to not mislead. Collectively, they have decided that activism and advocacy at this point outweigh those considerations. I’ll eventually make peace with that.

 

[MisterCreosote]

The fact that a lot of people think “sexual assault” = “rape” is part of the problem.