ESPN has been downright atrocious the last couple of weeks. Its bias was most blatant last Friday in its refusal to cover same-day breaking stories on the law-breaking of three white athletes (Matt Jones, Brad Miller, and Ted Dupay) on any of its regularly scheduled afternoon talk shows. Please pardon the interruption, but this fact wouldn’t be big news if these shows didn’t regularly moralize around the horn about any black athlete who sneezes.
Just a week earlier, three separate ESPN shows debated and pontificated over what Derrick Rose’s very first speeding ticket can tell us about his character (this is not a joke!). And on the very same day as the Rose traffic fiasco, ESPN’s did not report on Steve Foley’s settlement after his football career — and almost his life — was ended by two police bullets and 12 subsequent surgeries (expect a future D-Wil special on Foley). The lack of coverage is all the more glaring when considering the media spectacle had Foley shot the police officer. (Laundry lists of similar examples can be furnished upon request)
ESPN’s Bias is Institutional: All of the above examples were ESPN management decisions. Too often we focus only on the journalists (yes, I’m guilty as sin!), but the root of these problems are so much deeper than any individual writer or TV personality. ESPN’s racial (and gender) biases begin first and foremost with what stories they decide to call “news” — even if those stories are reported fairly (which they are not). These executive decisions are made because ESPN knows that they can profit off the racial biases of many white fans. The misbehaving black athlete is their best seller, so they keep giving the customers what they want (see 5274 stories on Adam Jones). ESPN execs also know that the more “conscious” white sports fan will rarely ever get mad enough to ever write into ESPN to state their objections. So nothing changes…
However, it must be noted that on the same week that the ESPN machine gets an “F’, some of its journalists came through big-time in their commentary, and certainly deserve some credit. Here are some selections from the last week:
1. Josh Hamilton in Context – Dan Le Batard and J.A. Adande: Firstly, congrats to Josh on his great year, his redemption from drug addiction, and his phenomenal performance at the Home Run Derby. And kudos to Dan Le Batard and J.A. Adande who rightfully heaped praise on Hamilton, but also added the necessary racial context. On Pardon the Interruption, DLB states: “I’m always for second chances, I’m always for a guy who makes mistakes and comes back, but there is not a black Josh Hamilton, there is not a black John Daly. We only do this for the white guys where you waste a lot of talent and we embrace you as a nation.” On 1st and 10, Adande stated:
“First of all, Hamilton needs to be celebrated… so he deserves all the accolades. But I’m wondering why the same attention is not afforded Milton Bradley… I think part of the problem is when we look at athletes in this society African-Americans are not afforded the ability to let go of their past. Josh Hamilton does not get hounded with catcalls about his drug use in the past… Why aren’t we celebrating Milton Bradley for the person he is in 2008 and the season he is having.”
2. Congressional Amnesia on Pat Tillman – Mike Fish: Fish reports that The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform issued a 49 page report Monday that is critical of what it termed a “near universal lack of recall” by top White House and Defense Department officials including former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Mary Tillman says: “It disappoints me that there is no recommendation and they are not trying to take this further,” Mary Tillman, Pat’s mother, told ESPN.com. “What’s particularly troubling is these top officials all have convenient amnesia. That is absurd.”
3. When Athletes Had Guts – Stephen A. Smith: In ESPN The Mag, Smith wonders if any athlete will have what it takes to make a political statement at this year’s Olympic games the same way Tommie Smith and John Carlos did 40 years ago.
4. NBA Refs Scandal: There are generally two sub-sections of ESPN that seem to have any degree of autonomy within the larger ESPN machine. Outside the Lines is by far and away ESPN’s best show and longtime vet Bob Ley has earned some lattitude as the network’s conscience. Also, True Hoop with Henry Abbott (formerly a blog bought out by ESPN) is the only place on its website where you will regularly find articles critical of the NBA beyond the players. Both offer up interesting offerings into the NBA referee mess.
4A. TrueHoop’s Henry Abbott linked to this article from Bob Young of the Arizona Republic asking for David Stern to step down after a FOX News report that Tim Donaghy has made 134 calls to fellow referee Scott Foster during the time he was making bets. Not only that, but: 1) Donaghy only made 13 calls to any other ref; 2) most calls were short; 3) most calls came before and after games; and 4) most were followed, preceded or both by calls to Thomas Martino the middleman between Donaghy and bookie James Battista… Wow!!! That lone rogue ref theory doesn’t look so good. …In related news David Stern has dismissed this report, and the American League won the MLB all-star game.
4B. Are NBA Referees and Coaches Too Buddy-Buddy? – Mark Schwarz is stunning because it is the very rare ESPN article on referees that wasn’t driven by “mandatory reporting” because the story was public knowledge. ESPN actually made a couple of investigative phone calls here. But before I give too much credit to the network seemingly run by David Stern, could someone explain why they took down the “Outside the Lines” videos on the side bar? Did Mr. Stern place and angry call or something? In any case, it is nice too see George Karl speak up, like right here: Asked if he believes Donaghy is the only referee guilty of manipulating games, Karl squirms before he answers. He leans forward, then back. He sighs. He shakes his head and finally offers, “I don’t know how to answer that question without getting fined.” …Congrats, you just did, George.
5. The Rooneys and the Cruelty of Dog Racing — William C. Rhoden: On the Sports Reporters this past Sunday, Rhoden said: “Throughout Michael Vick’s dog-fighting ordeal, The NFL talked about how it opposed Vick’s behavior and cruelty to animals. Now we find out the Rooneys, one of the pillars of the NFL own a dog kennel. If you think broken down horses have it bad, look at the dog racing industry. It’s not pretty and in too many instances, it’s cruel. The sport should be banned and anyone who aids and abets the industry should be sanctioned — especially an NFL owner whose league just a year ago took a stance against animal cruelty.”
The football message boards killed Rhoden because all they could deduce was a “comparison” of Vick to Rooney and dog-fighting to dog-racing. It’s like if I said “people who murder women and batter women should both go to jail”, and then I was accused of “comparing” murder to assault. (BTW, I’m in favor of a constitutional ammendment that bans the use of the word “compare” from intellectually lazy or dishonest journalists!). Conveniently omitted in the Rhoden reaction was any information or analysis about whether the dog racing industry is actually cruel. Here are some “Greyhound Racing Facts” from the Humane Society, and people could decide for themselves if they wish their own dog to be treated like a greyhound. And it is a quantifiable fact that to support the industry is to support the murder of infinitely more dogs than Michael Vick has ever killed. Hey, considering that Rooney has supported dog mass murder, it is a bad “comparison”! Anywa
y, Rhoden’s central point about accountability for Rooney stands.
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