Readers and Potential Commenters; BEWARE!

In case you haven’t heard by now, the New York Jets are under investigation for “things” done and said which allegedly created an uncomfortable atmosphere for a female reporter from a Mexican TV station. Shortly after, Clinton Portis was reached for comment and managed to put his foot in his mouth, much as he did when felon Michael Vick was under investigation for the truly hideous crime of dogfighting (if you really want a rant about Vick from a dog owner, just send me a note and I’ll tell you how I really feel).

I frequent espn.com and I truly love their content. The page is a little bit multimedia heavy but whatever, some of my favorite writers on the face of the planet write for that website. Whenever a story such as this breaks, involving gender issues and something that can definitely be called sexual harassment, I love to read viewpoints from all places of the spectrum and this story was no different. I read about the frat house atmosphere that the New York Jets seem to be allowing if not promoting (found here: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/commentary/news/story?page=howard/100915). I also read about the fact that the Jets may not have been the only ones who should share blame in this fiasco (no, she didn’t ask for it, but read more here: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/commentary/news/story?page=hill/100914).

I know that I shouldn’t, but another thing that I do from time to time is I look at the comments that people write after reading an article. I know that to a certain extent I shouldn’t let these comments get to me but sometimes I do. So I’ve decided to dedicate this post to those people and I’m going to let anyone who reads this (yes, I’m talking to you) know why these comments, mostly innocent, bother me so much and if I manage to make one single person re-evaluate before posting their comment, I will consider myself victorious.

The first two paragraphs of this post are building up to a law so dramatic that we went to war over it (granted, we went to war for many other reasons but this was included). In short, it is the law that allows us to say whatever we want. Yes, that law is the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. Everyone knows the basics about these far-reaching and powerful words but many people seem to think that they are more powerful than they really are. First of all, this is the text of the first amendment:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Before I wade too deep into my point, I would like to say first and foremost that I will not be discussing freedom of the press, right to peaceably assemble, right to petition the government, or the freedom of religion. Yes, that eliminates everything except the freedom of speech.

So what do those words mean? In a nutshell, it means that we as citizens have the right to say whatever we want, whenever we want. Now, for the public good, people have been found legally liable for doing idiotic things like yelling “fire” in a crowded theater but for the most part, that law remains the same today as it did over two hundred years ago.

Writers on espn.com and all over the sports journalism world like to get juicy quotes and then comment on them; that’s just the nature of the beast. When a kicker is critical of one of the best quarterbacks in league history and then that quarterback, known for his unbelievable poise and class in his responses to the media, refers to the instigator as “our idiot kicker who got liquored up and ran his mouth off”, it’s news.

What often happens after episodes where professional athletes put their foot in their mouth is some combination of the team that employs them and the league that indirectly employs them comes down and slaps them on the wrist. In some cases, minority opinions needs to be heard and it is through this courage that the enormous ball that is “social change” can get rolling. That’s not what we’re talking about though. I’m talking about Clinton Portis, who on two occasions has earned the ire of his own front office and the league office by doing nothing more than voicing his opinion (first about Michael Vick and dogfighting and secondly about this most recent incident involving the Jets).

I know it’s not a great idea to take seriously the comments that follow the articles written by professional journalists but sometimes they just make my blood boil and I’m here to rant about it. The one that gets me time and time again are the comments about the articles that are written about the wrist slapping. It took me a minute to work that out so I’ll make it simpler.

Situation occurs
Third party gives good quote
Third party is reprimanded by team/league for giving quote
Article is written about reprimand
Comment is made about article

Make sense?

Ok, now back to my point. Many people that take the time to submit a comment immediately jump on the team (twice now the Redskins) that does the wrist-slapping and one ignorant person even went so far as to say that Portis should retain a lawyer and sue the Redskins for violating his right to free speech.

The reason this bothers me so much is it shows a complete ignorance in the text of the first amendment. Congress shall make no law… Congress! The first amendment says nothing about the Washington Redskins, the National Football League, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., etc. The right to free speech cannot be infringed upon or impeded by the government (be it state, local, or federal). Private companies and organizations can include all kinds of restrictions in the contracts that they have their employees sign. For instance, there might be a clause in Portis’ contract (I know I keep coming back to Portis but he is the one shining example that proves my point) that states that he will do or say nothing that would reflect badly upon the Redskins franchise.

At the point that he signed it, he is now bound by that clause and if he wants to say and do things that reflect poorly upon the Redskins, he can still do that… but he might find himself out of a job very quickly.

PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS

The last rant that I will undertake before I sign off will be to all those of you who take the time to write a comment just to say that the person who wrote that piece is stupid (or something along those lines). I know that I don’t have a huge circulation and not very many people read this blog so therefore, I don’t get a lot of comments. Nevertheless, it takes a certain kind of courage to put your ideas and thoughts down on paper (electronic or newsprint). I write for the enjoyment of sharing one particular set of opinions and views of the world with anyone who will take the time to read it. Am I out to convert anyone to my chosen viewpoints? Absolutely not. I would say that my sole goal is to spark debate or further debate and if I had to guess, I would say that if you polled professional journalists around the country, they would say similar things about why they enjoy writing for complete strangers.

To go to those sites and call the writers idiots is nothing short of disrespectful and it irks me incredibly. I don’t care if you disagree with me; in fact, I enjoy it when I debate a topic with someone who disagrees with me as long as the discussion is respectful in nature. To all you who would make such comments, you are the internet equivalent of the guy standing behind home plate who stands up and yells “you suck!” when the other teams best player comes up to bat. It is an emotional response and emotional responses have no place in debate.

So the next time that somebody writes something that you vehemently disagree with, craft your comment and then ask yourself if you would want someone to say that to you after you make a point. If so, post it. If not, please reconsider.

…

To sum all this up, be informed. If you disagree with something that someone says, back your opinion up with solid reasoning. Some of the most fruitful and interesting discussions that I’ve ever had were ones where I did not have all the facts and when they were presented before me, I acknowledged my lack of information and continued the discussion/debate without an emotional outburst. In a world of grey, nobody is 100% right and nobody is 100% wrong.

And I’ll leave you today with this thought.

Always remember it is never a good idea to argue with a stupid person because someone walking by may not be able to tell the difference between the two of you.


Happy Friday everyone.