What is wrong with ESPN??
 

ESPN just ran a package on their show "1st and 10" highlighting the career of Sean Taylor's life...well, more like a highlight on the legal troubles that Sean had in the beginning of his career, and the only mention of Sean as becoming a better person or a better NFL player, were in the last 30 seconds, when they used an interview from Clinton Portis on monday.

The man just died, does ESPN really have to highlight on the fact that Sean was almost in jail? As well as pointing out all of his controversial plays from college and his short NFL career.

They could have done it in a much more taste full manner.

Re: What is wrong with ESPN??
 

[quote=dcweldon;384416]ESPN just ran a package on their show "1st and 10" highlighting the career of Sean Taylor's life...well, more like a highlight on the legal troubles that Sean had in the beginning of his career, and the only mention of Sean as becoming a better person or a better NFL player, were in the last 30 seconds, when they used an interview from Clinton Portis on monday.

The man just died, does ESPN really have to highlight on the fact that Sean was almost in jail? As well as pointing out all of his controversial plays from college and his short NFL career.

They could have done it in a much more taste full manner.[/quote]


seems like all of the media is doing the same thing. It is kinda really pissing me off. There is a time and a place and this certainly is not the time for this crap.

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The media gets taylor in the end after all......

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Of course they're gonna dig up dirt on him now that he's passed because now he can't defend himself or at least explain his actions or continue to show that those were just childish mistakes and that he's way past that now.

People love to kick a dog when it's down.

Re: What is wrong with ESPN??
 

[quote=dcweldon;384416]ESPN just ran a package on their show "1st and 10" highlighting the career of Sean Taylor's life...well, more like a highlight on the legal troubles that Sean had in the beginning of his career, and the only mention of Sean as becoming a better person or a better NFL player, were in the last 30 seconds, when they used an interview from Clinton Portis on monday.

The man just died, does ESPN really have to highlight on the fact that Sean was almost in jail? As well as pointing out all of his controversial plays from college and his short NFL career.

They could have done it in a much more taste full manner.[/quote]

That pisses me off. Even more so, considering they had no problem exploiting Sean Taylor's big hits when they used to run "Jacked Up". Now that he's passed, they decide to paint him as a thug. Classy...

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Somebody needs to hurry up and promote SmootSmack. We need a little love over there at the 4 letter.

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How ironic! Taylor never trusted the media. And in the end, he was right!

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Call me paranoid, but I think it is another example of the national media hating the Skins. When TO tried to commit suicide they still bent over to kiss his ass. Even the NFL website focused on negatives. Let the man be and RIP. I am disgusted.

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Redskins Insider on washington post.com is updating with player and coach remembrances. Too many to post individually, but they are a much more fitting tribute.

[url=http://blog.washingtonpost.com/redskinsinsider/]Redskins Insider[/url]

Re: What is wrong with ESPN??
 

I'll post something later on that B.Mitch said on the radio this morning.

Let me assure you guys, the media coverage here locally has a strikingly different tone than the national media covering this story.

They are actually giving in depth interviews about Taylor. BMitch had some really good things to say, and actually called Wilbon out on the carpet.

Re: What is wrong with ESPN??
 

[quote=12thMan;384429]I'll post something later on that B.Mitch said on the radio this morning.

Let me assure you guys, the media coverage here locally has a strikingly different tone than the national media covering this story.

They are actually giving in depth interviews about Taylor. BMitch had some really good things to say, and actually called Wilbon out on the carpet.[/quote]
Wish I was still local.

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[quote=rypper11;384430]Wish I was still local.[/quote]

Nothing like it.

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I think a big reason for these negative reports is that ST didnt talk to the media so they have no relationship with him and know little about him so they just recycle the stories they have from the past and unfortunately for St most of those were negative.

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[QUOTE=rypper11;384430]Wish I was still local.[/QUOTE]

You still can be...sort of. Subscribe to Comcast Sports Net (CSN) if at all possible. I have been even more thankful to have this channel here in Atlanta as I've been able to watch most everything about Sean Taylor's life and his passing.

Re: What is wrong with ESPN??
 

[QUOTE=12thMan;384429]I'll post something later on that B.Mitch said on the radio this morning.

Let me assure you guys, the media coverage here locally has a strikingly different tone than the national media covering this story.

They are actually giving in depth interviews about Taylor. [B]BMitch had some really good things to say, and actually called Wilbon out on the carpet[/B].[/QUOTE]

That's one of the things I really like about Brian Mitchell. He pulls no punches and tells it like it really is whether you like it or not. Look out Wilbon! :boxing:

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I wanted to punch Skip Bayless in his arrogant, ignorant mouth this morning. He led off on 1st and 10 this morning talking about how he wasn't surprised about the incident and how troubled Sean was, blah blah blah. ESPN led the 6pm SportsCenter last night with a big segment about his gun incident, the spitting thing, and talking about all his problems before mentioning anything else. What a joke. I have such a love-hate relationship with that network. They have a lot of good programming, but they love to break people down. God forbid they lead with the tragedy of the whole situation. But no, lets rip his past rather than honor the man. Disgusting.

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Watch the tribute video on Redskins.com and I guarantee you will cry. Make sure you have the audio on.

As for those highlighting Sean's past legal troubles, f em'. It's akin to spitting on a man's grave.

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ESPN (while NFL Network continues to replay GameDay and Total Access) has been covering Sean Taylor the man (both the good and the bad) through all its platforms (tv, radio, online) all morning long.

The complexity of Sean Taylor adds to what makes all this so tragic and compelling.

Sorry if I seem harsh but I don't understand the need to bash ESPN at every turn. And maybe, definitely actually, I take it too personally. But you'd be the same if I spent my time talking about how you constantly fail at your jobs.

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Actually, Mike Terico (sp?) is doing a very respectable job right now on ESPN Radio on Sean Taylor. He, and whoever it is on air with him, are even talking about the absurd crime rate in Miami. Terico has mentioned several times the loyalty of Redskin fans and how they fully support the team whether or not they've ever met one of the players. Good job Mike, and to some degree, ESPN Radio (except for Colin Cowturd).

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You better believe these media outlets are scouring our boards to get some sense of how the fans feel.

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Sorry, but all the networks devoted a heck of a lot more coverage to the TO attempted suicide and Ben R's. motorcycle crash than they have to Sean's MURDER.

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[quote=SmootSmack;384445]ESPN (while NFL Network continues to replay GameDay and Total Access) has been covering Sean Taylor the man (both the good and the bad) through all its platforms (tv, radio, online) all morning long.

The complexity of Sean Taylor adds to what makes all this so tragic and compelling.

Sorry if I seem harsh but I don't understand the need to bash ESPN at every turn. And maybe, definitely actually, I take it too personally. But you'd be the same if I spent my time talking about how you constantly fail at your jobs.[/quote]

If you do half as good a job at ESPN as you do on this website, then they are very lucky to have someone like you. Everyone is just pretty emotional right now. No disrespect to you whatsoever SS. ESPN is obviously a great network, otherwise they wouldn't have the worldwide success they've achieved. Sorry if my comments seemed harsh.

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i sent to email to epsn. i went on espn.com and clicked on contact us and sent the email about the show today

Re: What is wrong with ESPN??
 

[QUOTE=SmootSmack;384445]ESPN (while NFL Network continues to replay GameDay and Total Access) has been covering Sean Taylor the man (both the good and the bad) through all its platforms (tv, radio, online) all morning long.

The complexity of Sean Taylor adds to what makes all this so tragic and compelling.

Sorry if I seem harsh but I don't understand the need to bash ESPN at every turn. And maybe, definitely actually, I take it too personally. But you'd be the same if I spent my time talking about how you constantly fail at your jobs.[/QUOTE]

I agree. ST was no choirboy and almost everything everyone knew of heard about him was negative. His turning his life around was a very recent thing and since he never talked to the media not many knew he was changing. I think that in order to understand the man the good and bad must be talked about and from what I have seen ESPN is doing a pretty good job.

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SmootSmack, I'm sure it isn't personal. ESPN is the most visible portal for sports news in the world. They (you) have tried to put on up-to-the-minute Taylor information. Unfortunately, in the case of some of the on-air talent, the words have been less than comforting.

As for bashing ESPN at every turn, they're the biggest dog on the block. In "real" news media, no one cares about how slanted MSNBC is, because they're third place. Everyone cares about how slanted Fox News is, because they're in first.

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[QUOTE=GMScud;384451]If you do half as good a job at ESPN as you do on this website, then they are very lucky to have someone like you. Everyone is just pretty emotional right now. No disrespect to you whatsoever SS. ESPN is obviously a great network, otherwise they wouldn't have the worldwide success they've achieved. Sorry if my comments seemed harsh.[/QUOTE]

Ditto that response

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[quote=Lady Brave;384450]Sorry, but all the networks devoted a heck of a lot more coverage to the TO suicide and Ben R's. motorcycle crash than they have to Sean's MURDER.[/quote]

True. But TO is also a well known pain in the ass. So his suicide was almost like a media frenzy waiting to happen.

But I think ST deserves more than Big Ben I mean Big Ben's accident was his own stupidity. ST did nothing more than protect his loved ones and paid the ultimate price for it.

ST was no saint. But his legacy doesn't need to be kicked around either. He wasn't a thug, he wasn't some guy who knocked off old ladies, or in some dogfight scandal. He was a guy who made a few bad decisions and then turned his life around. That's the kinda story that needs to be on the news today. Not this "He was such a thug" bullshit. The media needs to back off with that.

Re: What is wrong with ESPN??
 

[quote=Lady Brave;384450]Sorry, but all the networks devoted a heck of a lot more coverage to the TO attempted suicide and Ben R's. motorcycle crash than they have to Sean's MURDER.[/quote]
And I don't remember a "tribute" talking about his spitting on Deangelo Hall..

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[quote=SmootSmack;384445]ESPN (while NFL Network continues to replay GameDay and Total Access) has been covering Sean Taylor the man (both the good and the bad) through all its platforms (tv, radio, online) all morning long.

The complexity of Sean Taylor adds to what makes all this so tragic and compelling.

Sorry if I seem harsh but I don't understand the need to bash ESPN at every turn. And maybe, definitely actually, I take it too personally. But you'd be the same if I spent my time talking about how you constantly fail at your jobs.[/quote]
I don't think I have ever trashed ESPN. That being said, I can understand why some are upset at the way ST is being portayed. I believe there is a more tasteful way of presenting this story. Dwelling on his past and harping on it to a national audience has consequences. I was reading on a couple of other teams websites yesterday and most were acting like he deserved this. The national media has portrayed this guy like a gangster so thats all the non-locals hear about. He never got the chance to show the media and the whole world that he was trying to be a better person.

ESPN is not alone in this boat folks! Everybody running this story nationally has something to say about his past.

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[quote=DynamiteRave;384456]True. But TO is also a well known pain in the ass. So his suicide was almost like a media frenzy waiting to happen.

But I think ST deserves more than Big Ben I mean Big Ben's accident was his own stupidity. ST did nothing more than protect his loved ones and paid the ultimate price for it.

ST was no saint. But his legacy doesn't need to be kicked around either. He wasn't a thug, he wasn't some guy who knocked off old ladies, or in some dogfight scandal. He was a guy who made a few bad decisions and then turned his life around. That's the kinda story that needs to be on the news today. Not this "He was such a thug" bullshit. The media needs to back off with that.[/quote]
To be fair, Ben's crash was offseason when there was no other sports news. From a media perspective, big difference between June and November.

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[QUOTE=SmootSmack;384445]ESPN (while NFL Network continues to replay GameDay and Total Access) has been covering Sean Taylor the man (both the good and the bad) through all its platforms (tv, radio, online) all morning long.

The complexity of Sean Taylor adds to what makes all this so tragic and compelling.

Sorry if I seem harsh but I don't understand the need to bash ESPN at every turn. And maybe, definitely actually, I take it too personally. But you'd be the same if I spent my time talking about how you constantly fail at your jobs.[/QUOTE]
SS we've bantered about our media experience so I somewhat understand what you're feeling. ESPN is big dog and the big dog gets blamed for everyone elses bites sometimes.

One of the reasons I got out of the field is because of coverage like this. While a small part of his life, his past legal and on field troubles have (presumably) nothing to do with this tragedy and really shouldn't be mentioned in any stories related to this. If it were Pac Man Jones that this happened to, it would make more sense and a correlation could be made more readily but as it stands it's just another example of the media going to the negative in order to spice up a story.

I know it's probably not the right time for this but, I can't help to think there is a sterotypical undertone to some of the comments from the media, 'This is the circle he surrounded himself with. He hung in violent crowds so why should we be surprised this happened. He had gun incidents in the past so this can't be so unexpected.' One incident automatically lumps him in with the image of a 'thug' that the media perpetrates consistently. Sean wasn't Tank Johnson, he wasn't Pac Man Jones, he wasn't Chirs Henry..

This was a man who had one incident, had removed those people from his life, had moved on as a man and a father who died protecting his family. Let's see if ESPN, NFL-N or anyone else has the courage to honor him for being home, asleep at 1:30am, with his girlfriend and child in the room, not at a nightclub or a strip bar and he did what any real man would do if he had to, he died protecting his family.

I hope the Redskins PR staff is taking note of those (Bayless, Wilbon, etc) who have run to the negative so immediately and bar them from Redskin Park forever.

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[QUOTE=GMScud;384441]I wanted to punch Skip Bayless in his arrogant, ignorant mouth this morning. He led off on 1st and 10 this morning talking about how he wasn't surprised about the incident and how troubled Sean was, blah blah blah. ESPN led the 6pm SportsCenter last night with a big segment about his gun incident, the spitting thing, and talking about all his problems before mentioning anything else. What a joke. I have such a love-hate relationship with that network. They have a lot of good programming, but they love to break people down. God forbid they lead with the tragedy of the whole situation. But no, lets rip his past rather than honor the man. Disgusting.[/QUOTE]

Skip Bayless earns his living by making one outrageous statement after another. His willingness to say on a daily basis things that fall just short of being either racist and/or over-the-top offensive is what has earned him a daily spot on a national broadcast. Hard to respect a guy whose most refined skill is pissing people off.

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You guys have to remember that these are ESPN talking heads we're talking about here, guys. With all due respect, SS, how many sexual harrassment suits and stories have come from those guys? Harold Reynolds, Sean Salisbury, Mike Tirico, Berman... all of these guys have been linked to fairly skeevy "off-the-field" activities, yet they have no problem taking a holier-than-thou angle on a guy like Sean Taylor who is dead.

And, to be frank, if Sean HADN'T had a fiancee and a daughter, I can guarantee you the media reports would have been even more harsh. That's just life as an American media celebrity, though. We love to build up idols and then bring them down when they fail to perform or amuse us any longer.

Call it the gladiator mentality.

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[quote=Sheriff Gonna Getcha;384442]Watch the tribute video on Redskins.com and I guarantee you will cry. Make sure you have the audio on.

As for those highlighting Sean's past legal troubles, f em'. It's akin to spitting on a man's grave.[/quote]

I just saw that. I'm crying like a little baby right now. The background music is the same as in Gladiator when Russell Crowe dies. Fitting. A gladiator.

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[QUOTE=Sheriff Gonna Getcha;384442]Watch the tribute video on Redskins.com and I guarantee you will cry. Make sure you have the audio on.

As for those highlighting Sean's past legal troubles, f em'. It's akin to spitting on a man's grave.[/QUOTE]

Best image from that montage is the one they end with:

[IMG]http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-8/1275969/st1.JPG[/IMG]

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[QUOTE=gibbsisgod;384462]ESPN is not alone in this boat folks! Everybody running this story nationally has something to say about his past.[/QUOTE]

Well that's one of my biggest gripes. That ESPN is singled out. But at the same time I understand Pain and Brud's point that ESPN is the big dog.

But regardless, my frustration is really irrelevant to what truly matters, as is how the media covers it or how viewers react to the coverage.

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My feeling is that all of the negative stuff in his past is completely irrelevant to this. He wasn't shot in a night club or at some crack house. He was at home asleep with his fiancee and baby girl. Then some piece of crap cuts his phone lines breaks in and shoots him dead. Whether he had past legal trouble or not has no bearing here and the fact that he had become a better man, a man to look up to means he deserves to be remembered that way and ESPN seems to be doing a pretty shitty job of remembering him the way he should be remembered.

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[quote=dgack;384466]Harold Reynolds, Sean Salisbury, Mike Tirico, Berman... all of these guys have been linked to fairly skeevy "off-the-field" activities, yet they have no problem taking a holier-than-thou angle on a guy like Sean Taylor who is dead.[/quote]


Just to be clear, I'm not saying that any of the above-mentioned ESPN "analysts" are saying anything negative about Sean. Just that ESPN has plenty of skeletons in its OWN closets. Unlike most NFL players, however, huge media conglomerates are able to afford to pay lawyers and other damage control specialists to keep the majority of this stuff out of, well, the media ;)

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[QUOTE=SmootSmack;384471]Well that's one of my biggest gripes. That ESPN is singled out. But at the same time I understand Pain and Brud's point that ESPN is the big dog.

But regardless, my frustration is really irrelevant to what truly matters, as is how the media covers it or how viewers react to the coverage.[/QUOTE]

One thing to think about is that I am pretty sure the local DC coverage of this is far more forgiving and compassionate than the national coverage. ESPN represents the national coverage to most people so those of us local to this see the discrepency in the way things are presented. I do agree that maybe ESPN is being unfairly singled out.

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[quote=SmootSmack;384471]Well that's one of my biggest gripes. That ESPN is singled out. But at the same time I understand Pain and Brud's point that ESPN is the big dog.

But regardless, my frustration is really irrelevant to what truly matters, as is how the media covers it or how viewers react to the coverage.[/quote]

Honestly Smooty the only reason I single out ESPN is because of the stories that have come out in the past few years that make it sound like a frat house. If you're going to judge athletes for off-field indiscretions, you better be beyond reproach yourself.

And if all of those allegations are all false, as ESPN legal would have you believe, you'd think they would understand the damage that hearsay and saucy implications can do.

But in the end it's all about sellin' newspapers... (figuratively speaking)