Since Rev vike seems to be interested I will have my first post be a little bit about myself. Some of the long time readers of PV probably knew me under my former alias of BlueVikingDevil. Well my time at Duke is over and now I am pastoring a church and so I changed my identity to Holy Hitter (also the name of my fantasy team in the Hazelweird league that I am in with PV).
So what can you expect to read when I post? Well first, now that I am back in Minnesota I will be able to comment more on the Vikings game play since now I can actually watch the games rather than rely on the analysis of PV (not that PV's analysis is bad, actually I often wanted his take on the game, but it just isn't the same as watching the game with your own two eyes).
Outside of that you can expect occasional rants about negativity in sports (common throughout blogs and many sports websites), posts about college basketball once that comes around, and other various comments on sports in general.
So today I was reading the PFT Rumormill and became really miffed. What really bothered me was their take on Andy Reid walking out on his press conference after reporters began to ask questions about his son. Specifically, PFT states, "On one hand, we think that the troubles of Reid's adult son are unrelated to Reid's job, and should not be discussed at a press conference or anywhere else. On the other hand, the fact that Reid took an unusual leave of absence after his sons encountered legal troubles in January makes the topic fair game."
First of all "unusual leave of absence?" I would assume that many parents if their children got into trouble with drugs, guns, etc. would take time off from their work to address the issue and I am pretty sure Reid's leave of absence would more than likely fall under the "Family and Medical Leave Act" but maybe not. So Andy Reid was a good dad and now because of that his sons troubles with the law are fair game at press conferences? C'mon. It isn't like Reid took his leave of absence during the regular season or playoffs, he took it off at a time where he as a head coach was not as busy and I am pretty sure that if anything major needed to be addressed he probably was available to the franchise.
However, this gets to a more pressing issue. At what point do reporters realize that just because someone is a celebrity or "focus" of the media's attention that this doesn't mean that everything/everyone connected to that person is fair game when discussing that person's job. Andy Reid is the coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. The absolute maximum question I think a reporter could ask (not minimum like PFT states) is "Are you thinking about taking some more time off to support your family?" That question doesn't really center around his son and it actually deals with his job. We are talking about a pro football press conference not a press conference on Andy Reid's personal life (heck not even his personal life his son's personal life which might have an effect on his life). The fact is the media thinks that just because these people are in an industry (that is right an industry) that is consumed by millions that everything about individuals in the industry is fair game whether they personally are the agent of the story or if they are somehow tangentally related to the agent of the story. It is annoying and I would like press conferences actually to focus on football, but hey it is the offseason have to make a story somehow I guess.
Thanks again to PV for letting me come on board once again (this time I am here to stay since I dont have the time to maintain my own blog).
Now, obviously the First Amendment gives the reporters the right to ask any questions they want (that same First Amendment, I suppose, gives Reid to express his displeasure by walking out on a presser, unless his contract requires he stay or something). So the reporters have a right to ask these questions.
ReplyDeleteThe issue is, are these questions relevant? I agree with you: if I'm following the Eagles, I might want to know if Reid is planning to take time off. Further questions about the legal issues of Reid's son aren't really relevant to me. If I'm a reporter, I have a right to ask the subject anything I want. And on some issues, it is good for reporters to press subjects even if the subject doesn't wish to talk about an issue. However, that doesn't mean every question is relevant.
And again, the same right to free expression that reporters have to ask the questions gives Reid the right to express displeasure at the questions by walking out or refusing to answer.
Absolutely. The fact that Reid has previously taken time off to deal with issues surrounding his sons makes asking questions about it reasonable. It's also perfectly reasonable for Reid to decline to answer them, and if reporters persist in asking about the topic, to simply leave the room, because there is no point in saying "I'm not going to discuss my son" more than a couple of times.
ReplyDeleteThe era of the internet and hypercoverage may lead to a different impression, but not everything is a big deal.
Havent we gone overboard when we must delve into someones personal life.Just because its the highlight of the moment doesnt mean intrusion is for the asking.
ReplyDeleteGood reporting shows a little tact and class.Now if it was found that Reid supplied the drugs and forced them on his sons, might be worthy of a sports article.Does this fall under Goodells conduct policy if not then it prolly is not news worthy.
Drug and alcohol addiction is so rampant in our nation we are desensitized to it.We have a growing problem that so far little has been done.Instead of hounding Reid about something that is out of his control.One child is 22 and the other is 24 both I beleive past the age of parental control.What does everyone expect Reid to do grab both by the shirt collars and head to the woodshed.Besides giving the parental advice of you need to do something theres nothing Andy can do except pray.
His 2 sons face an addiction and until they are ready to take action it will continue.No one can force them not even Dad.
The questions that those reporters should have been asking.Is there enough being done about addictions and if not how can WE solve and correct it.Because all of us have either faced or dealt with an addiction at 1 time or another.
Thanks for the brief bio, H.H.
ReplyDeleteDid you take any classes from Richard Lischer? As a Lutheran pastor, I've had an interest in him for awhile. I served a parish in southern Illinois, and his "Open Secrets" nailed the culture there.
At any rate, of what kind of church are you a pastor?