Now I know why people hate, distrust and loathe the media. Now I know why journalists are mentioned in the same breath as, say, Johnny Cochran.
A couple of unnamed San Diego State football players are being questioned about a rape that allegedly occurred on March 2 on the 6000 block of Estelle Street, approximately one mile off campus.
SDSU Athletics Director Rick Bay confirmed to The San Diego Union-Tribune in yesterday’s paper that a few players are being questioned about the alleged rape. They are being questioned? Now let’s think about that for a second.
“Questioned” doesn’t mean charged, does it? Not the last time I checked my thesaurus while watching “The Dennis Miller Show.”
“Questioned” doesn’t mean accused, does it? Well, I guess that depends on which country you’re in. And the last time I did some research, this was still the United States, where it’s “innocent until proven guilty,” not the other way around.
Presenting the facts as a news story is one thing. Going on campus and stirring up fear and controversy is another.
Channel 10’s piece on the alleged rape was exactly that a piece of . . .
In the broadcast’s opening, viewers heard anchor Stephen Clark’s voice while a female student was interviewed on campus. His statement was something to the effect of “See why San Diego students aren’t surprised about a rape near campus.”
The top story tried to link unrelated issues like campus safety to the off-the-field problems professional not college football players have been involved in during the past few years.
The problem is, no one has been charged. Also, not just football players are being questioned, but non-sports students as well.
I guess it’s a lot easier to attack a small group such as the football team than the entire student body. Although with the football team composed of about 75 players, Channel 10 is perilously close to libeling the team.
Yesterday, I spoke with Lt. Jim Baker, the lead investigator in the case, and he said there was an alleged rape at the above address and the San Diego Police Department had no idea who did it. The case is still that new.
“We don’t know who all is involved,” Baker said to me. “It’s not a San Diego State problem.”
If it’s not an SDSU thing, then why the hell was a Channel 10 news crew lurking at Montezuma Mesa for hours Tuesday? Does this mean whenever a crime occurs on or near campus, the members of the football team are the culprits?
If I were running back Marty Graham or wide receiver Nate Jacquet, I’d be livid at Channel 10 for showing my highlights while Clark said this was the second investigation in 15 months about an Aztec player or players involved in an alleged rape.
Hello, is anybody home over there at KGTV? In case you forgot, that case proved to be as false as Michael Irvin’s coke girls saying they’re “self-employed models.”
Speaking of Michael Irvin, comparing the San Diego State “situation” with Irvin made as much sense as Ellen DeGeneres hosting the Grammy Awards. This is not a cocaine bust. And if they’re trying to make a parallel between this and the rape accusations brought against Irvin in January, remember this: The girl admitted to making it all up.
All I’m saying is, if there’s a story, then report it accurately, because news pieces like last night’s on Channel 10 only add to the sensationalism that is oozing from the media these days.
And for God’s sake, please don’t go asking a Charger Girl to be an expert on professional football.
