Apparently, Brady Quinn's girlfriend was with him during the alleged incident, according to the AP story that was put on Cleveland.com (see "The Denial" Link Below).
"In a statement released Wednesday through the Browns, Quinn said he had dinner on New Year's Eve with his girlfriend and other couples but that nothing else happened."
If that's true, don't the writers at the Plain Dealer have an obligation to inform the readers about who was with him? Really, would Brady Quinn had shouted the "f" word at gays in downtown Columbus if his girlfriend was with him? I think, more likely than not, he would not have. In my honest opinion, I think guys will tend to act a lot better if their girlfriend was with them. Again, not saying that the allegations are not true, but I am more skeptical today than yesterday. Does The Plain Dealer have an agenda for leaving out this bit of information in its original story? Probably not, but one has to wonder why that little detail was not published. After all, this incident happened over a month ago. Clearly, the Aaron Marshall (PD Reporter) had the time to get all of his facts straight. We will see what happens from here.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Clay: First, if you read it on Cleveland.com, even if it was an AP story, you are reading it in the PD. And, there might well be a plausible explanation for why the presence of the girlfriend was not reported. Sometimes (many times) stories evolve and details that weren't known to the writer in the first story become available in subsequent reports. I'm not saying that's the case here, but it could be one explanation. And, finally, as to Quinn's purported use of the F-word in front of his girlfriend, it has been my experience that the word has been used so frequently and so freely in our society, it long ago ceased being an effective invective. I hear people use the word "fuck" so often that I think it has become part of our word culture in America, especially among young people. It is not inconceivable to me that Brady Quinn would drop the F-bomb in front of his girlfriend or even his mother.
Clay -- Good ethical issue to kick off your blog. It looks likes the PD published the fact that Quinn said he was with his girlfriend. Interesting though that while he said he was not involved in any verbal altercation, the police report stated otherwise. The police report I saw on the Columbus police website made no mention of any anti-gay slurs. I think this would be a good discussion on credibility issues for the paper and the athlete's reputation. Let's discuss this in class. From what has been reported, which was basically in the PD, the underlying story of what preceded the 911 call is still not clear. Was there something going on inside the restaurant? Did this all happen in the parking lot outside the restaurant? I think the newpaper could have done some digging into what happened before publishing the story. Afterall, it was already pretty stale when they tumbled to the tip. I sort of agree with your thought that the 911 caller could have been seeking out the media to paint Quinn with some unfavorable press.
Good day, class. This is Ray Stein, sports editor of The Dispatch and an invited guest to this blog by my friend and former colleague Frank Hinchey. Hinch wondered if I would mind weighing in on this topic and I told him I'd be happy to. Of course, he was probably expecting my response before Tuesday night, but we all have issues.
And speaking of which, I have plenty of issues with this particular story. Frank mentioned that one of the topics of discussion was why this story did not appear in The Dispatch; it did, on Feb. 14, I believe. It was a condensed version, three or four paragraphs in our page 2 briefs. And frankly, it strikes me that that's about all it's worth.
I'm not surprised that the Plain Dealer chased this story, even six weeks after the alleged incident. But I am surprised by the length and depth of their reporting. This is a he said-he said, six weeks old, no charges filed, everyone go home, nothing to see here, people.
Do you run something in Cleveland? Absolutely. We certainly would publish an account if this were a high-profile Columbus Blue Jacket or an Ohio State football player. Quinn and athletes like him are held to a higher standard, like it or not.
But I'd like to think that if we were presented with a same-scenario case, we would publish something short and inside the section, perhaps a box treatment with a notebook or such, at least until there were charges or something meatier. I don't think the facts here merit a cover-display story (I think the PD ran it on their Sports cover, but I can't be sure) nor nearly as much space as they gave it.
I'd be happy to discuss this more if anyone cares to hear what I thin about it. Until then, be good.
Post a Comment