What is wrong with ESPN??

Heck so do I. But to paint such a large brush against all of ESPN and usually only ESPN is what gets to me. I know it shouldn't bother me, but it does. I'm sure you'd feel the same if every other week there were threads here about how all lawyers are money-hungry soulless scumbags. Granted, this isn't a message board about law firms.

People keep saying talk about the good person he is. Well ESPN has been, but the reality is that there was much more to him than just that. And it can't be nor should it be ignored. Problem is all people seem to be hearing is the negative.

I hear ya SS. But, given the gravity of the situation and how emotions are running high, I hope you can realize that people are being overly critical and sensitive about anything that is said about the guy.

As I said above, I love ESPN and we'd all be worse off without it. Moreover, his previous run-ins with the law are newsworthy. However, it is pretty disgusting to hear some people talk about Sean as though he had it coming and to give a lot of air time to his past problems which, so far, are totally unrelated to the tragedy at hand. It's akin to talking about how a woman likes to dress just after she was raped. Totally insensitive and indicative of a lack of timing if you ask me. Such comments are not limited to people at ESPN, I've heard them from people working for various news outlets. Such comments have not changed my opinion of ESPN or those other organizations, but they have changed my opinion of the people expressing them.

Heck so do I. But to paint such a large brush against all of ESPN and usually only ESPN is what gets to me. I know it shouldn't bother me, but it does. I'm sure you'd feel the same if every other week there were threads here about how all lawyers are money-hungry soulless scumbags. Granted, this isn't a message board about law firms.

People keep saying talk about the good person he is. Well ESPN has been, but the reality is that there was much more to him than just that. And it can't be nor should it be ignored. Problem is all people seem to be hearing is the negative.

It's okay to mention the negatives. My big problem was with media outlets starting the story with all the negatives. Just seemed insensitive.

A couple of points about the press covering this story:

1. Reporters will often confuse press availability with the quality of a person's character. Someone that won't help them do their work must not be a good person. For those of us who are not in the media and are even a little skeptical of the press ourselves, this confusion is particularly irritating. Does anyone doubt that if Taylor had been source for Bayless or a guest on Cowterd's show that they would be singing a different tune today? A greater effort needs to be made to treat everyone fairly and not play favorites with sources. This is called objectivity.

2. Taylor lives in the same kind of affluent neighborhood that a lot of these reporters like Skip Bayless live in. It's much easier to believe that Taylor brought this on himself through his life choices than it is to think that it was merely a random occurrence that could happen to anyone - even those in million dollar homes. This is called denial.

3. In watching ESPN2 this morning Mike Golic and the other Mike's stand in were trying to be sensitive to the situation but it was obvious as the show dragged on that ESPN's connections to the Redskins are tenuous at best and they were not able to line up anyone (except for Mort and Clayton who were going to be on anyways) to talk with them about it in a meaningful way at least at that early hour. Perhaps this will compel them to repair the breach. I have been extremely critical of ESPN in the past but in fairness, they are at somewhat of a disadvantage when it comes to the Skins and all of that is not their fault.

A couple of points about the press covering this story:

1. Reporters will often confuse press availability with the quality of a person's character. Someone that won't help them do their work must not be a good person. For those of us who are not in the media and are even a little skeptical of the press ourselves, this confusion is particularly irritating. Does anyone doubt that if Taylor had been source for Bayless or a guest on Cowterd's show that they would be singing a different tune today? A greater effort needs to be made to treat everyone fairly and not play favorites with sources. This is called objectivity.

2. Taylor lives in the same kind of affluent neighborhood that a lot of these reporters like Skip Bayless live in. It's much easier to believe that Taylor brought this on himself through his life choices than it is to think that it was merely a random occurrence that could happen to anyone - even those in million dollar homes. This is called denial.

3. In watching ESPN2 this morning Mike Golic and the other Mike's stand in were trying to be sensitive to the situation but it was obvious as the show dragged on that ESPN's connections to the Redskins are tenuous at best and they were not able to line up anyone (except for Mort and Clayton who were going to be on anyways) to talk with them about it in a meaningful way at least at that early hour. Perhaps this will compel them to repair the breach. I have been extremely critical of ESPN in the past but in fairness, they are at somewhat of a disadvantage when it comes to the Skins and all of that is not their fault.

Wait, I'm not understanding- Which is denial? Believing it was random or believing Taylor somehow brought this on himself?

Wait, I'm not understanding- Which is denial? Believing it was random or believing Taylor somehow brought this on himself?

It's denial to pretend that death doesn't come for each of us. When you suggest that Taylor brought this on himself you are trying to make yourself exempt somehow. As the man said,

"While them that defend what they cannot see
With a killer's pride, security
It blows the minds most bitterly
For them that think death's honesty
Won't fall upon them naturally
Life sometimes
Must get lonely."

Interesting take on this from Leonard Shapiro, he says ESPN botched the initial coverage

washingtonpost.com - nation, world, technology and Washington area news and headlines (http://washingtonpost.com)

Interesting take on this from Leonard Shapiro, he says ESPN botched the initial coverage

washingtonpost.com - nation, world, technology and Washington area news and headlines (http://washingtonpost.com)

Interesting but inaccurate. ESPN sent Rachel Nichols down right away. Jeannine Edwards has been covering from DC. And they've had a WaPo reporter on via phone (can't remember her name).

Interesting take on this from Leonard Shapiro, he says ESPN botched the initial coverage

washingtonpost.com - nation, world, technology and Washington area news and headlines (http://washingtonpost.com)

I think the ESPN coverage has been and continues to be a joke. Shapiro is right about this. ESPN is the self-proclaimed leader of sports news right? That means they have to be held to a higher standard. They screwed this up horribly and have still not found the appropriate tone for dealing with a story of this gravity, imo.

ESPN suxs

This isn’t necessarily an indictment of ESPN, but this thread was the most logical place to post comments about what I’m listening to on ESPN Radio. Colin Cowturd is again spewing more trash about ST and basically warned listeners that if you couldn’t handle the ugly truth, turn the dial. I almost did, but wanted to listen anyway. He talked about Michael Wilbon coming on Tirico’s show later today to discuss ST and how he (Cowturd) essentially has a man-crush on Wilbon and his latest take on this tragedy. Cowturd further stated that ST was guilty of really bad judgment and even if ST had begun to turn things around in his life and distanced himself from his old followers, “just because you clean the rug it doesn’t mean you’ve cleaned the stains.”

But the thing that really got me was when Cowturd recanted a conversation he had w/ Stephen A. Smith in the elevator regarding ST’s death. Smith said that because ST was shot “down stairs,” that this was most certainly a “message.” What?! Are you kidding me? How does Smith know that as fact? Did that “message” mean that ST was having relations with another man’s women or something?? That’s what Smith seems to be implying. I would assume the altercation occurred in darkness, the perp was confronted by ST and took a shot, missed, and took another one possibly running from a man brandishing a machete! Did Smith ever consider that the perp was trying to get the hell out of there and didn’t take time to plant his feet and take more careful aim? Give me a break.

I fear we are just going to hear more uninformed speculation on this and it makes things even tougher when it comes from blowhards like Cowturd, Smith, and now maybe even Wilbon, who I once respected. The media just doesn’t get it. At least practice a little patience before opening your mouth, typing on your computer, or writing on paper. We will ultimately discover more details about this incident, but until then, these clowns need to shut the hell up.