In his new column, Jason Whitlock of the KC Star reminds us of Selena Roberts’ past missteps in reporting. Roberts is currently receiving loads of attention for investigating Alex Rodriguez’s steroid history, which is highlighted in her new biography, “A-Rod.”
In 2006, Roberts covered the story for the New York Times about players from Duke’s lacrosse team that were involved in a potential rape. The allegations were since proven false, and Roberts never retracted the overzealous statements made in her columns.
Why it’s being treated as an unimpeachable piece of journalism can only be explained by the cushy position she’s been handed by The New York Times, ESPN and Sports Illustrated and the unchallenged institutional bias found within the elite sports media institutions.
Like the Duke lacrosse players, the elite media have decided that Alex Rodriguez is fair game for abuse. Rules of fairness do not apply.
In a rush to prove its racial even-handedness, the media initially chose to swallow the accusations of a black stripper over white college students. Roberts and others made fools of themselves. They were given the leeway to do so only because lacrosse players aren’t part of the NCAA money-making machine and unlikely to be future subjects of high-profile stories.
The players were convenient, vulnerable targets.
So is Rodriguez. Like Barry Bonds, A-Rod is a threat to surpass Babe Ruth (and Hank Aaron) on the home run chart. A-Rod, a Dominican, is the dominant player in a sport that is almost solely analyzed and defined by white American sports writers and broadcasters.
I am not asserting a nationwide racial conspiracy against minority baseball players. I’m in no way stating that Roberts’ pursuit of Rodriguez is motivated by race. I’m asserting that the media’s unwillingness to publicly and aggressively challenge itself breeds unequal and unfair coverage.
As a lifelong baseball fan, I’m kind of disappointed in myself for not really giving a damn. Selena Roberts seems like a egotistical reporter and A-Rod seems like an egotistical ballplayer. I wouldn’t want to spend my Sunday with either of them.
I have, however, thought it was fairly suspicious that this flood of evidence all came at the same time. If A-Rod has always been so disliked throughout the league, I’m sure more than one player would’ve reported something (anonymously or openly) to someone in the media. As we’ve seen, the “locker room code” of keeping mum about steroids, women, and cheating isn’t as respected as we previously thought. Since the beginning, I’ve been questioning Roberts’ reporting tactics. In the book, much of the dirt was given by unnamed sources or presented without any information on how it was obtained.
I’d like to know where this heap of damaging evidence came from before we lynch one of the best players in the history of the game. He is, and you know it. If it was all a hoax and A-Rod is really a lab creation, then fine. He’s never won a World Series so steroids as of yet have failed to buy a championship. That brings me some solace.
In all honesty, I’d like to see the guy succeed when he comes back. I agree with fellow Scores Reporter Anthony Stalter in believing that A-Rod is just a weird dude with a bunch of issues. He’s a talented wacko who has always had the ability to put up large stats. Now that everything is out in the open, I’d like to see how he plays under all this scrutiny. I don’t say this because I’m a fan of A-Rod or the Yankees. Far from it, actually. I just love baseball and love watching the best players play it. If he can’t play it well upon return, then we’ll all know what is what.
If he fails, then hey, there’s still Pujols, Kinsler, Longoria, Utley…the list goes on, really.
