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

[BrendaStarr]

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?

 

[Batman]

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.

 

[Meatie Pie]

not sure why you'd choose that one. Thoughts?

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?

 

[Riptide]

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

 

[Della9250]

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.

 

[Rockbottom]

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

 

[Alma]

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.

 

[Rockbottom]

Alternative headlines I came up with:

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

rb

 

[Steak Snabler]

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.

 

[Rockbottom]

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

 

[slappy4428]

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

 

[hondo]

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.

 

[MrBSquared]

If I am the shooter, and I get the shot of the game -- hell, the season, when considering the national title implications -- and it doesn;t get run, I am pissed.

As an editor, I might have waffled a bit, but looking at the fact that it does not show the actual painful break, probably would have gone with it.

The headline? Meh ... deadline parroting of the lede. It happens.

The fact that multiple fan boi bases are losing their minds over it? Not surprising ...

Then there is this: Every game, and really every season, can be broken down into defining moments, seminal seconds that impact far beyond the final outcome. Moments where effort and focus and sacrifice come into clear definition — bright, shining bursts that provide in-the-moment context for a season’s worth of effort and practice and sweat and sacrifice.

The final play of this game is that moment for two elite teams. The Auburn player’s no-quit hustle; the Ole Miss player’s not-to-be-denied determination. Two perfect examples of the kind of commitment it takes to compete and succeed at the elite level. It should have been a celebrated play, an example of the energy it takes to give your all — in this instance, beyond the point of physically enduring that singular effort.

Instead, it will be remembered for a horrific scene, overshadowing all that was given in bringing a fantastic game to that final, decisive instance. And that’s a shame. A shame because of the price paid by one young talented man; a shame because the painful end will overshadow the means it took to get to that moment.

 

[rtse11]

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.

Biggest online reads are accident and crime scene photos.

 

[Doc Holliday]

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

Totally agree. Photo needs to run. Headline writer blew it.

 

[BDC99]

Agreed. Photo isn't even that graphic. It was the biggest play of the game. But the headline was some weak sauce.

 

[BDC99]

Sigh.

http://deadspin.com/ole-misss-athletic-director-is-a-smarmy-****-1655423167

Quite simply and most disappointing, you showed no signs of remorse for the incredible lapse of judgment.

 

[Doc Holliday]

You know, I've got no problem with the Ole Miss AD taking the newspaper to task. So what if he's wrong, rambling or off base in his thinking. That's not the point he's making here.

I mean, heck, fans generally hate the media and I'm sure Ole Miss fans generally hate the Opelika-Auburn News now. What this AD is doing is securing the appreciation and support of the Ole Miss fan base. So he shoots off an email and blasts the Auburn paper. Big deal. I'm sure the Ole Miss folks love it.

Back before the Internet came along, this is the type of thing that made newspapers awesome. Even now, once in a while, it still does, too.

It's just so few and far between times that the impact is miniscule and only lasts for a day or two as people move on to pictures of what their friends are having for dinner on facebook.

 

[2underpar]

Wonder how many people took ESPN to task for replaying it? I'd bet the Ole Miss AD didn't.

 

[Calvin Hobbes]

Wonder how many people took ESPN to task for replaying it? I'd bet the Ole Miss AD didn't.

That was my question when this thing blew up.