An Alabama newspaper ran a picture of Laquon Treadwell’s unfortunate injury against Auburn on the front page following Ole Miss’ loss against Auburn. Needless to say this has not gone over well with several people, including the Ole Miss athletic director. Ross Bjork wrote a letter to the Opelika-Auburn Newspaper to express his feelings about the the use of the picture.
After careful thought and consideration, I feel compelled to express my disappointment in the way you reported the outcome of the Auburn vs. Ole Miss game. Specifically, the way you sensationalized a moment with a grossly depicted image that affects a young man’s life. Furthermore, your response to criticism from readers could be described as nothing short of digging your heels in. Quite simply and most disappointing, you showed no signs of remorse for the incredible lapse of judgment.
We run our athletics department with a well-defined purpose, and we operate daily using seven core values to guide us. Together, those core values comprise our “line in the sand,” and we will defend them when attacked. It is our belief that your actions are at odds with those of those core values: Student-Athlete Welfare and Social Responsibility. So, it is for that reason that I have written to you.
In closing, we know of no other newspaper that has used such a graphic image of a student-athlete’s injury in such a sensationalist way and sincerely hope you have not created a precedent for this type of crass journalism.
Ross Bjork
Director of Athletics
University of Mississippi
There is just some things you just don’t do and what the Opelika-Auburn Newspaper did crossed some lines. If you wanted to depict that critical play of the game there were several ways you could have gone about it without showing Treadwell’s injury. I hate when broadcasts continue to show replays of a kid’s injury and this is right up there with that. What makes this even worse is that someone actually signed off on using this image on the front page of a newspaper, that makes me sick to my stomach. I applaud Ross Bjork for speaking out on behalf of his student-athletes and going to bat for Laquon Treadwell.
What makes this even worse is that the newspaper has shown no remorse for using the picture in this fashion is and is sticking to their guns. There are some lines you just don’t cross and I think the Opelika-Auburn Newspaper should be ashamed of themselves.