I wanted to do this the easy and professional way. I didn’t want much, just an apology. An acknowledgment that award nominated journalist just can’t fly off the handle, calling someone a rapist who has never been charged or arrested for a crime. Here is what I wrote to several editors, PR people and producers at the San Francisco Chronicle.
Do I sound like an angry black man? Do I appear to be someone that is on a witch hunt? Did anything that I asked for sound unreasonable?
That was 9AM Pacific time on Monday As of right now I haven’t gotten an answer or statement from anyone. I have been doing this for almost 10 years now. I am very sensitive to not overreacting to things and in many ways this has frustrated a lot of my black readers. Just because the site is called BlackSportsOnline doesn’t mean I am always going to agree with what black athletes are doing or have done. I’ve been called an Uncle Tom by blacks and a race baiter by whites. Just part of the job. One of the most important parts of my job is making sure when someone doesn’t have a voice, I am there to speak up for them.
I know factually that Jameis Winston has done a lot of dumb things during his time at Florida State. Those things have been well documented and if you want to critique him on those, it doesn’t matter if you are Kevin Hart or Ann Killion you are within your rights. But when it comes to branding someone a rapist, you better have some facts.
The crime of rape is one of the most vile crimes there is. Sexual assault is running rampant and many women are too afraid to step forward to press charges against their accusers, so many go unreported. But the moment an accuser does step forward, the accused is on trial in the court of public opinion. From that point on the accused will always have that mark against him regardless of the outcome of the investigation.
Don’t believe me, just read what Ann Killion had to say about Colin Kaepernick when he was investigated for sexual assault this summer.
Thursday morning dawned with a nightmare, flooding social media:
The 49ers worst nightmare.
Colin Kaepernick’s worst nightmare.
But the story had already spooled out on Twitter, including the phrase “investigated for sexual assault.” As we’ve learned, it becomes virtually impossible to reel it back in and stop the speculation, the mushrooming, the jumping to conclusions.
It’s not fair to Kaepernick. But he, maybe more than any other quarterback in football, knows how the engine of social media is fueled.
An investigation does not mean a crime happened. We don’t know – and may never know – what happened. There have been enough cases involving celebrity athletes to teach us that there may have been a misunderstanding or something more nefarious.
Even if nothing illegal happened, from the 49ers point of view they don’t want their superstar quarterback in a police blotter, with reports of doing shots and taking bong hits and some young woman ending up in a hospital not knowing how she got there. That isn’t Peyton Manning or Tom Brady territory. The 49ers need their franchise quarterback to never – as in never, ever – be in a compromising situation.
There’s been a lot made about how Kaepernick is a quarterback for the new millennium, that he’s a social media, interact directly with the fans, dispense with traditional media, kind of quarterback. A tattooed game-changer.
But that means that no one should know better than Kaepernick the kind of instantaneous damage that can be done with one false move. With one misstep outside the inner circle. Reputations can be soiled in a moment.
That may have happened on Thursday morning. No matter what happens next, however the investigation turns out, the words “sexual assault” will show up in a Google search of Kaepernick’s name.
It doesn’t appear to me Ms. Killion is practicing what she preaches. First, she talks about how social media will jump to conclusions regardless of the evidence, but she is the person who tweeted this.
Ms. Killion talks specifically about how an investigation doesn’t mean a crime has occurred and there are times where the accuser isn’t telling the truth, but she once again tweeted this.
Ms. Killion makes a point of saying that once accused you can’t get your reputation back fairly or unfairly because people basically will tweet stupid things like this.
White people have a tendency to ask or make statements to black people similar to this.
“Why do you always make it about race?”
“It isn’t a race issue.”
“Why are you pulling the race card?”
“Everything isn’t about race.”
“Why don’t you just let it go?”
There are certain things in life you can’t understand unless you have walked in that person shoes or lived it yourself. I am not gay, I am not a woman, I am not muslim and etc so I don’t tell those people how they should feel.
When you see certain things happen every single day of your life and you see how little people think of your race, it is very difficult to just let things go. Do I think Ann Killion is a racist? No I do not. Do I think Jameis Winston is a choir boy? No I do not. But this is bigger than Killion and Winston. This is another example in our society where being white, and in this case female, gives you protection to say and do whatever the hell you please without any consequences at all.
I didn’t ask for Ms. Killion to be fired. I simply asked for a statement saying that a Sportswriter of the Year nominee understands that calling someone a rapist who has never been charged with a crime is not just unprofessional journalistic practices, but just bad taste.
Here is what Al Saracevic, the Chronicle’s sports editor (who I also emailed and who never replied to me), said about why Killion should receive the Sportswriter of the Year award.
“Ann Killion provides an honest, declarative voice in a sportswriting environment cluttered with noise,” said Al Saracevic, The Chronicle’s sports editor. “If she’s not the sportswriter of the year, I’d like to meet whoever’s better.”
That declarative voice just said this and didn’t apologize for it.
I tell the story often, after getting into some trouble in High School, my uncle pulled me aside and said.
“Robert when you walk out the door you already down 14-0”
Simply put, it is my opinion — and you can feel free to disagree– that if this was a black journalist and a white quarterback, it wouldn’t be swept under the rug. All we want is equality and to be treated fairly. That doesn’t seem like too much to ask. Still I constantly see black reporters, writers and television personalities being treated differently than their white counterparts. It happens far too often. They can’t speak freely, because they have families and need their jobs, but don’t think for a minute I am just talking without knowing what really is going on.
I hear the “off the record” stories every day. I’ve received all types of messages about this issue since bringing it to light.
I shouldn’t have to go on a 24-hour campaign every time something like this happens. We should be better than that, the Chronicle should be better than that, Ms. Killion should be better than that. But that privilege is similar to winning a title, it gives you unlimited protection.
Sad when I see more discussion about Josina Anderson giving Jason Garrett a brief hug, than a Sportswriter of the Year nominee calling someone a rapist and then brushing it aside because she knows she is untouchable.
This isn’t a white or black thing. There were many white people and media disgusted with her tweet. This isn’t about protecting Jameis who like Kevin Hart says needs to stop doing dumb sh*t. This is a bigger issue. Someone in the media intentionally did something so unprofessional that would have gotten her reprimanded if she was any other race.
One more thing my uncle told me that day.
“Always keep your eyes open and your wallet in your front pocket.”
I’ll be keeping my eye on you Ms. Killion.
*UPDATE*
The San Francisco Chronicle has emailed me and DEMANDED I take down the pic of Ann Killion, hope you like the new one.
*UPDATE*
Not surprisingly Ann Killion won the California Sportswriter of the Year award.