Shawn Henfling doesn’t blame Keith Olbermann for his views, but he sure doesn’t watch ESPN.
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I don’t know Keith Olbermann. I can’t speak to the kind of man he is, his motivations for attacking Penn State’s THON fundraising effort, or Penn State students in general. I surmise his vitriol for all things Penn State may be a direct response to the Sandusky abuse case.
The point is, I don’t know.
What I do know is this: ESPN, once arguably viewed as the primary source for sports journalism has degraded into the athletic version of FOX News. They are there for your entertainment and any factual news culled from the organization is the exception rather the norm.
I know Penn State still carries with it the stigma of the Sandusky saga. ESPN jumped on the bandwagon early, touting half-truths and lies that set the tone for a public outcry. They heaped onto the pile and kicked a university, its faculty, staff, and students while they were down. Most of the media followed suit, and any person brave enough to come forward in defense of Penn State was immediately crucified. Children were molested, the public reacted, and the outcry was immediate and horrendous. Debating the merits and faults of the story isn’t why we’re here though.
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For the uninitiated, THON is the largest student run charity organization in the world.
The very first event took place in February of 1973 and involved 78 students who danced for 30 straight hours. The event raised $2000 for the Butler County Association for Retarded Children. (Not very PC for todays standards, but times were different then.)
2015’s THON event involved 15,000 students who danced for 46 hours and raised over 13 million dollars for cancer research. Students engage in fundraising year round, adopt families with cancer stricken children, and give their hearts and souls to finding a cure for a devastating disease. Since 1977, 127 million dollars has been given to the Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital.
Those students and what they do every year are incredible and make every one of us proud to be associated with them. THON is just one reason I’m proud to be a Penn State Alumni, and why I was personally appalled at Olbermann’s attack of them via Twitter.
Also proud of their accomplishments, Lisa Aiello Deleon (@lisaadeleon) tweeted to Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) the link to a PSU article touting the fundraising efforts and results. His response wasn’t congratulatory. Instead, he simply said “pitiful.”
Predictably, he was immediately lambasted in the twitterverse. Instead of an immediate apology, Mr. Olbermann continued to insult the people of Penn State, clarifying his tweet. He didn’t mean the fundraising was pitiful, just the students. He continued his assault, calling the education and ethics of the school “mediocre.”
…I haven’t knowingly clicked an ESPN link or watched the channel since 2011.
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I could show statistics proving Keith wrong. I could attack the man, the organization that suspended him for a few days, or anyone defending him. I could, but I won’t.
At least partly because of my education at Penn State, I’m going to let it go. I won’t cast judgment upon him for his views. I won’t attack him on Twitter, Facebook or any other outlet.
Instead, I’ll simply ask why?
What happened to Keith to make him the man he is? Deep down, does he truly believe what he says or is he simply playing the role of actor, paid and encouraged by ESPN and Disney? The real issue isn’t Keith and his views. Keith is just the latest symptom of a pervasive disease.
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The issue here is the decline of sports journalism and the actors portraying reporters.
A few years ago (2010) we had the spectacle that of the Lebron James to Miami Heat press conference.
In 2013, Jadeveon Clowney didn’t play a game due to injury. The real story is that he wasn’t cleared medically. The spin, perpetrated by the major sports media outlets, was that he was just saving himself for the NFL.
Years prior, 2006 had brought us the Duke Lacrosse rape scandal.
I know full well the industry as a whole is suffering and that ESPN is not the only culprit. However, when we think sports journalism, most of us immediately think of ESPN. Largely due to their handling of the Sandusky story, I haven’t knowingly clicked an ESPN link or watched the channel since 2011. I simply will not support the kind of entertainment that passes for news put out by ESPN on a daily basis.
Until more of us take a stand against their kind of reporting, nothing will change.
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Photo Credit: Penn State
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I was in a planning meeting today and we talked about the drug problems in our schools. The conversation turned to sports stars, superstar athletes that have become heroes to kids. They see these men and women glorified on television, getting a light punishment for drug offenses and think “OK, whats the big deal.” It’s time to redefine hero, and ESPN and networks like it will not be a part of the solution.
Apt comment Jonathan. This article from the Atlantic said it pretty well too ( http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/09/the-most-valuable-network/309433/) “One of the loudest criticisms of ESPN is that its aggressively mainstream approach creates a sycophantic celebrity culture built around the biggest stars and juiciest plots, from the agonies of the L.A. Lakers, to the scandals of Tiger Woods, to the postmodern dramedy of Tim Tebow. But according to Elberse, the company’s superstar culture is the best strategy for a fat-headed world. “It’s not different from People realizing that there are only five celebrities who really sell [magazines], so why put anyone else on the… Read more »
I think so much of this is that professional sports is now entrenched in money, not just in sponsorships, but that the NBA, NFL, MLB and college sports position themselves like brands. I think also that sports news (I candidly admit that I don’t follow it much, but still) is now entangled with all the problems that mass media has generally– sure, sports news was already entertainment, but… it’s almost like athletes are now playing out reality TV. All of it is a spectacle, apparently, ripe to be harvested for whatever mega-corporations desire. Juvenal’s “bread and circuses”, if you will.