With all the news coming out about the Jonathan Martin/Richie Incognito scandal last week, it got me thinking about the lack of professional journalism in this day and age. Interestingly word came out, as some suspected, that Martin and Incognito had exchanged a number of texts where they "ripped" each other and said what, when taken as individual texts, some pretty awful things. The problem is, you can't take one text on it's own unless it was truly a stand alone text. In this case, you see a pattern of back and forth banter between friends and after Martin left the team, true concern from his buddy Incognito. Unfortunately, when Martin came out and said that he had been "bullied", a buzzword in this day and age, "journalists" around the country jumped to conclusions and labeled Incognito a bully, racist, and thug.
I'm not here to defend Richie Incognito, as he has a history of missteps and maybe has been allowed to get away with a bit too much on and off the field. I'm also not trying to downplay the effect of true bullying. As someone who was held up at knifepoint as a fourth grader, I know all to well the real impact bullies can have. I simply wish the media would have taken a deep breath and looked at all sides of the story before jumping to the conclusion that Martin must be right and Incognito was the guy "sticking Martin's head in the toilet and flushing."
I have always enjoyed Mike & Mike on ESPN Radio and felt that Mike Greenberg was a true professional who wouldn't report a story without knowing the facts. But when I heard him discussing this scandal last week and the Martin side of the texts, I was stunned that he said that "we all just assumed that Martin had been bullied." Are you kidding me, "we assumed". Since when should journalists assume anything? What happened to investigative journalism. I truly believe that with the internet, and everyone having the ability to provide their "expert opinion" as soon as they hear a rumor, the media has devolved into a gossip machine which in many cases is no better than 'The National Enquirer". This all in the name of being the first to report a story, whether you have any facts or not.
I think this should be cause for concern for all of us, especially coaches. Anytime you have a disgruntled player, parent, or fan, they can start an online rumor that can quickly get out of control and lead to major issues. Unfortunately, I have personal experience with a local journalist not investigating, then printing a story about my former program with little basis in fact. Because of that, I may forever have to answer for this individual's article and try to explain away something that did not in fact happen even close to the way it was reported, but was printed as truth in our local paper.
Here's hoping that next time someone makes an accusation that can completely change another person's life, the media will show some discretion. Unfortunately, I won't be holding my breath. In the meantime, I have texts from family and friends that I'd like to report!
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