Double Standard, Anyone?

If anyone ever wanted proof of the media's bias, here is it. Air Force's coach Fisher DeBerry, after losing to TCU, made the comment that TCU "had a lot more Afro-American players than we did and they ran a lot faster than we did. Afro-American kids can run very well. That doesn't mean that Caucasian kids and other descents can't run, but it's very obvious to me that they run extremely well." For this he was reprimanded across the country and by his own school. Even after his public apology, ESPN said, "It wasn't quite clear whether he was apologizing for what he said, and the ideas they conveyed, or merely for his word choice."

On ESPN.com today, one can find Penn State coach Joe Paterno making similar comments. "The black athlete has made a big difference. They have changed the whole tempo of the game. Black athletes have just done a great job as athletes and as people in turning the game around." Hmm...that sounds eerily familiar to "Afro-American kids can run very well." But who am I to judge? Let's leave it to ESPN, who attached the column title "Penn State Coach Offers His Praise for Black Athletes." I agree, somewhat, that DeBerry's comments were slightly cruder than Paterno's, but only in semantics. The gist is definitely the same.

Let's be honest here. DeBerry is an easy target who's already made a splash this year with his "Team Jesus Christ" banner. ESPN finds it easy to add fuel to the fire. The last thing they want is for DeBerry to fade quietly into the night. Now contrast that with Joe Paterno. The story on ESPN's agenda is "Joe Pa's Still Got It." He's back and he's better than ever, according to ESPN. Do you think that people may sour a bit on that idea if Joe Pa's comments were treated in the same manner as DeBerry's? Quite likely. It would be further evidence that Paterno is out-of-touch with modern times--which I remind you, was ESPN's storyline prior to this season.

In short, it's a sad state of affairs when one has to read even ESPN with a critical eye.