Well-done, well-stated article on sports journalism (Ambush interview discussed)

I guess I should have realized it wouldn't be discussed, but in watching the game on ESPN yesterday, I found discussion of the ambush incident noticibly absent despite repeated fawning over and rehashing of Tejada's story and recent history.

 

the funny part is I have yet to meet an Astros fan who cares. It might be because he is hitting over .300

 

I have yet to meet a baseball fan who cares. Of course, I'm not sure I've met a baseball fan who cares about steroids either.

 

you can't be serious. i know i know, record attendance, but just because they aren't throwing the baby out with the bathwater doesn't mean they don't care

 

I think they care more about finding ways to bash people they hate than actually hating the drugs. Its fun to kill Clemens and Bonds but no one gives a crap that Andy did it.

 

Exactly. I definitely care. I care that Tejada used 'roids and basically lied about his age all these years, it does not speak well on his character. Just like I bashed Bonds and Clemens I will bash him as well. Yeah and ESPN sucks too, but that's a separate issue.

 

Here's another Houston fan who cares:

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/ballz/2008/05/an_open_letter_to_fans_of_migu.php

An Open Letter to Fans of Miguel Tejada
Tue May 20, 2008 at 01:08:53 PM
Houston sports fan, you are a hypocritical idiot.
What am I talking about? Miguel Tejada, that’s what I’m talking about. This guy can do no wrong in your eyes. So what if he used steroids? So what if he lied under oath to the Feds? So what if he committed fraud for 14 years? He’s getting hits, so you don’t care.

But it’s funny how it mattered with Barry Bonds. It’s funny how Barry Bonds was the most evil man in the world. How he’s supposed to be in jail and how he’s a disgrace to the game of baseball for taking steroids and lying.

The only thing I can figure is that Barry Bonds is a dick, and Miguel Tejada’s not. Which to me seems to mean that it doesn’t matter what rules you break, or what lies you tell. As long as you’re a nice guy, it’s A-OK.

The San Francisco Giant baseball fans were mocked about the country for standing up for Barry Bonds. But here are the Houston Astros fans are standing up for a great man with a great personality who hits home runs for sick little kids in the hospital.

You, Astros fan, are just as bad as the Giants fan. Whether you want to admit it or not. And I’ll tell you what else is a problem: the idiots over at the Chron. When the San Fran Chron had a chance to nail Barry Bonds, they risked jail time to get the truth. Whereas the morons over at the Houston Chron (Brian McTaggart excepted) celebrate Tejada. Like Richard Justice writing that Tejada’s “been a perfect acquisition in every sense of the word.”

Perfect expect for his taking steroids. Perfect expect for his lying to the Feds. Perfect except for his 14 year history of committing fraud. Perfect. Just like Barry Bonds is perfect except for taking steroids. Just like Barry Bonds is perfect except for lying to the Feds. Perfect except for the 14 year history of committing fraud. But wait a minute, I got that wrong. Barry Bonds didn’t go around for 14 years lying about his age and cheating his bosses out of millions of dollars, so maybe his fraud’s not as bad as Tejada’s.

Barry Bonds can’t get a job in baseball. But Houston is embracing Miguel Tejada as if he’s a native son. No wonder Jose de Jesus Ortiz can go on ESPN and talk about Houston supporting Roger Clemens. Or that billboards can up throughout the city talking about the city’s support for Roger Clemens. After all, with the way Tejada has been embraced, you’ve just got to know that Rocket would be embraced upon his return.

I’ll say this: when the New York Yankees come to town, I better not be hearing any negative comments about Jason Giambi or Andy Pettitte. You better be giving them standing ovations like you do Miguel Tejada. Because at least they’ve admitted their actions were wrong whereas Tejada has yet to apologize for any of his actions.

And just keep telling yourself that lie: it’s only B12. It’s only B12. – John Royal

 

i think it's a bit unnecessary to ambush tejada like they did, and they are running the risk of athletes not trusting them and granting them interviews in the future because of it, but i wouldnt call it disgusting. tejada was gonna have to face the music about that at some point whether he liked it or not, and espn wanted to get some shock value out of it.

they uncovered the dirt, and this is how they chose to question him about it. i don't feel sorry for tejada - he committed the crime. do you feel sorry for the "to catch a predator" perverts when they get their lives ruined on national tv? that's just about an exact comparison.

i think your heart goes out to tejada because he's on your hometown team and you're a fan of his, first of all, and second of all, because, in your opinion, forging your age isn't a serious crime.

 

Agree. I can see why he changed his age, though. However, I want to know why he changed his name from "Tejeda" to "Tejada".

 

sorry, but casually adding, "well, i ALSO think tejada is disgusting because he lied too" and "well, two wrongs don't make a right", in a crying effort to support your stance doesn't work. if you thought that from the get-go, you clearly would have mentioned that in some form in your original post, rather than approaching it with the rabid anger supporting espn and in defense of tejada as you did. the ice is starting to break on you realizing your hypocrisy though, so i'm glad i could help you there.


let's me clarify the most obvious point that blew over your head....never did i say that child molestation was equal to lying about your age. I am saying that Dateline NBC is using the exact same lack of journalistic integrity that E:60 used to "ambush" tejada. they get online, trick mentally ill perverts into thinking they are underaged children, and convince them to travel to a house where they then effectively put an end to these people's lives in front of an audience of millions.

do you find NBC disgusting for doing this?

 

absolutely i do. there are a couple of threads about that you can dig up.

 

EXACT COMPARISON?!? You're calling Tejada, who lied about his age so he could get a $2,000 minor league contract and leave his SHACK in the Dominican Republic, the EXACT SAME as a scum-of-the-Earth pervert who preys on the innocence of a little child?? Get some freaking perspective. Tejada's lie did not affect ANYBODY.....he's still playing the game at the same level and intensity as he did when he was 21 years old. Ask the Athletics or the Orioles if they gave a crap that he was 2 years older than what he said back when he was playing for them....or hell, ask the Astros NOW. However, ask the young kids, or ask their parents, if they give a damn about how a sexual predator affected their lives. Congratulations on making the most asinine, baseless, STUPID argument I have ever read on this board. I hope you get flamed HARD for this.

And our heart goes out to him because A) you're telling me you wouldn't do the same in his shoes? A 19 year old KID who's being told to say he's 17 so he has the chance to set his family up for life? B) like you said, he's an Astro, and as an Astro fan, I will support him. I might not agree with everything, and I might not believe him when he says he didn't do steroids, but I will never actively root against an Astro....ever.

 

i was asking him. he obviously does not think that's disgusting, given the tone of his post when he addressed that in the reply...just am attempting to get him to realize his hypocrisy.

 

You're calling him out for not stating everything in his original post, and calling him a hypocrite, when you're guilty of the EXACT same thing. Never in your original post do you say ANYTHING about the exact comparison being about the journalistic integrity of these news corporations. You asked if we felt sorry for the guys who get caught on dateline, just as we feel sorry for Tejada.....implying that our sympathies lie with the criminal. I am not condoning anything that Tejada has done, just as I am not condoning anything those Dateline guys have done....but there HAS to be a balance to journalism which dictates how far you are allowed to go as a reporter. Otherwise, a reporter could come right up to you today, start bombarding you with all sorts of questions, then play the footage of you hemming and hawing your way around them.....even though you are innocent of everything. And no, I am not implying that Tejada is innocent of anything, nor am I implying that the Dateline guys are innocent.....BUT, there is an absolute difference in the crimes that were committed. Tejada lied about his age to give himself, and his family, a better opportunity to move up in life....those Dateline guys violated a child. The ends, though, don't always justify the means.

 

wow...just...wow. there is so much lack of knowledge, misunderstanding, incoherence, and idiocy crammed into these two paragraphs, that i'm actually impressed.

i already touched on some of this in my last post, but to be completely and brutally honest- and i apologize for putting you beneath me- you sound too unintelligent and thickheaded for me to even respond to, and attempting to explain why would be a losing battle. i am certain that all of my responses would fall on deaf ears and you would meet any of them with more irrationality and shouting.

 

The fact of the matter is you've been called out by a few different people for making sweeping generalizations about the way the whole interview was handled, and then when you've been challenged, you've taken the holier-than-thou approach and insulted anybody who had the audacity to question you. You're calling people hypocrites and idiots for misunderstanding what you said, when in reality, you're the one who is having trouble comprehending the arguments of others.

The essence of the debate is that it is very possible to disagree with both the criminal and the journalist. That is something that you are not wrapping your mind around. By saying that the journalist was out of order in the Tejada interview, I or anyone else is NOT saying that Tejada was justified in what he did (and yes, I do not think it was as despicable an act as other people do....I, however, do believe that it sheds some light on other, more egregious acts that he probably lied about), but I do believe there is a certain code with which journalists should act. That code was broken by ESPN, just as it is being broken by Dateline.

And I still think you should be flamed for making your comparison, which you are. Insulting me, getting personal with your arguments, and calling me an idiot only show that in reality, it's you that is impossible to have a discussion with.

 

you are calling me out for being sanctimounious, after ranting how absolutely disgusting lying is and how disgusting liars are. congrats, i can assume you've never told a lie in your life.

you're right...you "don't have to prequalify every statement you make on an internet bbs" (funny how you dismiss and diminish the same medium that you apparently rely on so heavily to voice your opinions). better you should assume that everybody reading the thread that you started has memorized all the posts that you've ever made. i will give you credit though for your documented stance on tejada, and apologize for the accusation (although had no reason to assume anything otherwise, given the tone of your original post). i stand corrected. one thing i'd like to add though, in your prior posts, you were referring to what ESPN did as "bush league"...that i agree with, and said so in as many words in my initial reply. "bush league" is a far, far cry from "disgusting" though.

once again, and i don't understand why i have to explain this more than once, but i'm saying what ESPN did was no different than what Dateline NBC does, not that lying about your age is relatable to child molestation.

"Lock the bastards up, cut their nuts off, whatever, but I don't need to see it on television. "

so, just to clarify, you are now saying that it IS perfectly ok to lie and dupe, and you are in full support of it, as long as it isn't broadcast on your tv set?