Digital Media
Former OSU RB acquitted of rape, sports media largely silent
Published
5 years agoon

Former Ohio State Buckeyes running back Bri’onte Dunn was acquitted of two charges of rape on Oct. 19. It’s Oct. 25 as of this writing.
You know what has happened between those two days? Two things — Dunn began to put his life back together and the national sports media has been completely silent.
Sure, the local Columbus Dispatch newspaper put out a story noting Dunn was found not guilty of the charges. But, scan ESPN or Sports Illustrated or any other mainstream sports website or app and it’s been crickets on the coverage of this fact.
One could argue that this is a local issue and the national media shouldn’t care much considering by the time Dunn was alleged to have committed this act (2017) he wasn’t with the Buckeyes program anymore.
It would be a good argument for not covering the story at all. But, here’s the problem — the mainstream sports media jumped all over the charges being brought against Dunn when they were brought up.
After all, #MeToo was fresh in everyone’s minds and Dunn getting charged in the middle of all of that was easy fodder. He also is the classic fodder for the mainstream sports media as the once promising star falling from grace.
Dunn was a rising star before his 2015 dismissal from the OSU program, rushing for 113 yards on 25 attempts in his freshman season before injury and other recruits jumped up the depth chart ahead of him.
But, his prowess on the field is beyond the point here. This is about fairness in media, and in the case of Dunn there is no such fairness from the SJSW’s (social justice sports writers, as we like to call them here).
Google Dunn’s name and these are the search results that come up first:

You see what I’m seeing there? You’ve got the story from the Dispatch at the top and then nothing, absolutely nothing from the rest of the sports media world.
But, why?
It’s pretty simple, and something I speak about all the time on my podcast — narrative trumps truth in today’s SJSW world.
Dunn being charged fit in well with the social justice narrative and neatly inside the ongoing topic of sexual assault and rape within the culture at large.
The SJSW’s jumped all over it. Just a quick google search of Bri’onte Dunn and ESPN tells you all that you need to know:

It’s important to note that I believe the charges being filled was a newsworthy event, especially locally. That’s not the issue here.
The issue here is that there is zero follow up from the SJSW’s and their media outlets who found it newsworthy to mention the charges in the first place.
If the charges being brought are worth your effort, your tweets and your outrage, shouldn’t you also be curious about the actual outcome of the case?
Therein lies the problem with too many of the mainstream sports crowd and our culture in general. Truth, final outcomes and reality don’t matter much.
Charges being brought, accusations being leveled are the only thing that matters. If you didn’t do anything, why are accusations floating around or why are charges being brought?
For Dunn and many others like him, the charges are the only thing that will hang over him because of the failure to cover the outcome of the trial.
Can you imagine what would’ve happened in the case had Dunn been convicted?
My hunch is that ESPN, SI and the other big sports media names would’ve highlighted it on the front pages and the college football sections of their websites.
We likely would’ve seen ESPN make mention of it on SportsCenter or one of the numerous panel shows.
That conviction would’ve been headline news because it would’ve fit right in to the narrative o the SJSW’s out there. His actual not-guilty verdict? Crickets…
It’s further troubling, because ESPN, Sports Illustrated and others lost a major chance to highlight a problem that exists for athletes far too often — false allegations and people wanting to get a piece of stardom from athletes at any level.
In this case, Dunn’s acquittal actually highlights how sometimes people lie to bring charges and get revenge. This case is one of those such moments, as the defense was able to prove the victim was lying and made a lot of the moments of that night up.
As the Daily Wire notes:
She then admitted to contacting Dunn 27 times after he allegedly raped her. She claimed she did this to get him to apologize.
“If I believed he was really sorry about it, I wouldn’t have reported it,” even though she went to police the day after.
She also admitted she told Dunn she would tell police she lied about the whole thing, but said on the witness stand she didn’t lie. The jury heard two recorded phone calls where she asked to meet with Dunn after their encounter, and said she would tell everyone that she lied. Dunn told her to leave him alone.
So, when you see stories from the SJSW’s remember that its narrative, not truth that they are after.
The SJSW’s owe Dunn and others like him an apology, because they certainly are doing him a disservice by allowing the allegations and charges to hang out in the ether as if he’s guilty before being proven innocent.
I won’t be holding my breath that ESPN or any other of the SJSW outlets will ever point out Dunn’s not guilty verdict with the veracity they covered his original charges.
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Veteran of the Digital Sports Media world, with work featured on Fox Sports, ESPNU and other outlets. Previously employed at Bleacher Report, The Comeback and FanSided. Consumer of sports media and member of it since 2011, you can find me still beating the drum of independence and truth in sports coverage.

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Digital Media
Clay Travis continues to use hearsay to troll Greg Schiano
Published
5 years agoon
December 4, 2018
Clay Travis isn’t afraid to say what is on his mind, and often times he’s one of the few in national sports media not afraid to speak truth to the prevailing narrative.
However, he isn’t above being wrong and on Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano he is exactly that – wrong.
Travis’ obsession with Schiano started about this time last year as his beloved Tennessee Volunteers (he wrote a book about them if you didn’t already know) were about to hire him as their next head coach. It continued on Tuesday morning as Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer’s retirement and Ryan Day’s appointment as head coach were announced.
Really stunned Ohio State didn't name Greg Schiano as their new coach. College football media all told me Greg Schiano was the greatest available coach in college football history. Guess Ohio State disagreed.
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) December 4, 2018
The claim by Travis and others was and is that Schiano knew about incidents of child rape involving then Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky back in the early 90’s and did nothing about it.
Travis presents the scenario as if it is established fact and therefore should disqualify him from ever being a head coach of a major college football program again.
But, what was really said in the now unsealed deposition? Well, it paints a vastly different picture than what Travis and his campaign to get Schiano out of the Vols head coaching search painted.
It’s something that Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt pointed out to Travis after he tried to defend his take earlier today.
Wrong, we told you that slandering his name using a third party, uncorroborated, mention of him from a civil suit deposition in order to submarine his hiring because you didn't think he was a good enough coach was not right…Low, even for you https://t.co/yBKoR7jKLp
— Joel Klatt (@joelklatt) December 4, 2018
Here is what the deposition actually says according to StateCollege.com:
In his deposition in the civil case, which was unsealed with hundreds of pages of documents in July 2016, McQueary said that in the mid-2000s, years after he reported it to Penn State officials, he told defensive coordinator Tom Bradley about the 2001 incident in which he says he saw Sandusky abusing a boy in a locker room shower. Bradley, McQueary said, told him he had heard a few similar reports, including one from Schiano in the early 90s.
McQueary claimed that he briefly discussed what he witnessed with Bradley, who had been on the Penn State staff since 1979 and succeeded Sandusky as defensive coordinator after the 1999 season.
“He said he knew of some things,” McQueary testified. “He said another assistant coach had come to him in the early 90s about a very similar situation to mine, and he said that he had — someone had come back to him as far back as the early 80s about seeing Jerry doing something with a boy.”
That’s certainly a different story than what Travis and his ilk would have you believe. If you listen to Travis on this subject you would be led to believe that what he is saying about Schiano is 100 percent fact…end of story.
Instead, the actual truth is that Schiano may have known something at one point in time way back in 1991 or anytime during his tenure in State College, but no one has been able to verify the claim made by McQueary — not even Tom Bradley himself verifies these claims.
In fact, Bradley has denied all knowledge of any acts by Sandusky from the very start. He released a statement through his attorney after the testimony became unsealed.
“At no time did Tom Bradley ever witness any inappropriate behavior. Nor did he have any knowledge of alleged incidents in the 80’s and 90’s. He has consistently testified as such,” the statement read. “Any assertions to the contrary are false. When he became aware of the 2001 incident it had already been reported to the University administration years earlier.”
So, Travis is willing to take the third party hearsay in a civil deposition as the gospel truth? He wasn’t about to back down this morning that’s for sure.
How is citing court testimony under oath a hoax? It's the very definition of the most reliable evidence to cite. You may not agree with the testimony, but if it's a lie then the testifier can and should be charged with perjury. Which didn't happen. https://t.co/wRPZ15cYV4
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) December 4, 2018
Call me confused, because this is also the same man who will scream to the heavens that a person is innocent until proven guilty.
Where is the proof that Schiano knew and did nothing? There literally is none in existence that we or Travis or anyone else can dig up. The only people that really know are Bradley and Schiano themselves.
Travis is also in danger of being a massive hypocrite. Let’s remember this is also literally the same situation as current Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh went through just a few months ago.
You know who went to bat for Kavanaugh?
You got it…Clay Travis.
If there’s one thing I can’t stand it is someone who has a standard and doesn’t apply it equally.
Why would Travis not believe the Kavanaugh accusers, but believe McQueary? Both sets of people were under threat of either felony or perjury charges. Yet, only one set of these people were labeled a liar by Travis.
Oh, that’s right, Travis had an agenda to make sure the team he loves most doesn’t make a bad football hire. He would go to any lengths to make sure that happens and in this case it is continuing to smear a man with a case of third party hearsay.
He also owes Schiano and his family an apology for dragging his name through the mud based of of unsubstantiated claims. He’s wholly bent on wrecking a man’s life and reputation because he didn’t want his favorite team.
Even worse is that people wholly believe what Travis is selling has 100 percent fact and will repeat it ad nauseam. It’s how tall tales replace real facts across our culture and is very dangerous indeed.
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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated uses Tim Green story to push CTE-ALS link as fact
Published
5 years agoon
November 20, 2018
Tim Green was once the backbone of an ever-underachieving Atlanta Falcons team in the late 1980’s and early 90’s. He then went on to become a massive success as a broadcaster, author of children’s books and as a businessman.
But, on Sunday night he also revealed a drastic change to his life, as he announced on CBS’ “60 Minutes” program that he was suffering from ALS — otherwise known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
Sports Illustrated had a piece on this segment and how ALS and head-trauma from football players are linked.
It’s truly sad to see anyone suffer through this debilitating and eventually fatal disease. Yet, Green remains upbeat and considers what he’s been able to accomplish in his life as a blessing. That much he made clear in his interview with 60 Minutes.
But, for SI.com writer Jack Dickey, Green’s situation seemed a good time to remind everyone that CTE leads to ALS and there’s no question about it.
“Green, 54, is not the first ex-NFLer to develop the disease; the link between the violent game and the degenerative and fatal neurological condition, which causes sufferers to lose most control of their muscles and is diagnosed in two to three out of every 100,000 people annually, has grown somewhat clearer with time,” Dickey points out in his article.
The key words here are “somewhat clearer with time.”
The problem is, studies about CTE and ALS being linked haven’t actually made things any more clear. What has become clear is that people with CTE are seemingly more likely to get ALS than the general population as a whole.
That doesn’t mean the two are actually linked though. Commonality doesn’t equal causation necessarily and a basic biology class or science class in general has taught all of us that.
At least one would think that is the case.
The reality of the research on the issue is vastly different than the conclusion SI.com draws.
In reality, the link is a possibility at best. There simply isn’t enough available data or understanding of CTE or the link to ALS to make a definitive statement.
As raredr.com points out, the study clearly makes a potential link in the fact that about 5 percent of studied CTE cases have also demonstrated symptoms of ALS. But, most importantly, it emphasizes that the two may not actually be linked.
“Approximately 5% of CTE cases result in patients demonstrating the clinical or pathological characteristics of ALS, however, whether the 2 conditions are related has remained a mystery.”
It’s a number that is certainly higher than the average population as a whole. In fact, the study also points out that CTE has also been found in military veterans, who are twice as likely as non-veterans to be diagnosed with ALS.
Yet, Sports Illustrated has taken it a step further in not bothering to point out the actual conclusions of the study to date. Instead, they make that blanket statement made above and then continue on as if that statement is fact.
In fact, the rest of the article doesn’t even bother to mention the study in any factual way. There is no quoting of the study or any further discussion of the link that has been shown to date.
But, SI would have you believe this one paragraph and its conclusions are the only thing that could be possible.
It’s the exact opposite of what the study concludes:
Due to the high complexity of both diseases, more long-term studies are necessary for a full understanding of the connection. The recent analysis warrants a larger study of more people with CTE and CTE-ALS to confirm results, but continued studies could potentially uncover viable CTE-ALS biomarkers and therapeutic options.
Shame on Sports Illustrated for using Tim Green and his situation to promote half-truths and outright falsehoods within an article.
This is exactly how speculation and falsehoods become truth in the popular culture. After all, outlets like SI have become trusted sources of information and if they print it, it must be true.
It is on outlets like SI to give us the honest and unvarnished truth. Anything less than that is malfeasance.
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Digital Media
What the Quod? A new era in sports media coverage
Published
5 years agoon
November 19, 2018
First off, for those of you that have come to grow with us at Beat The Coverage — a hearty thank you.
When I started this project my goal was to expose the truth of liberal and social justice bias in sports media and give a different voice on the biggest topics and stories coming out of the sports world.
It’s been a fun journey to date, but as the saying goes “if you aren’t changing, you’re dying.”
So today, we bring you a brand new name — The Quod.
What is The Quod? Well, for those of you that love dead languages, it’s Latin for because, which and fact. What better way to hammer home the point that facts are missing from the sports media world of today, than to put it right in the name?
It also brings up the idea of “The Quad” on your favorite college campus…also known as the area where protest, speech and gathering takes place.
Why the Change?
Well, as some of you likely know, there’s this website called Outkick The Coverage out there. What Clay Travis is doing there is amazing work, and it’s some of the stuff I am doing here on our little corner of the interwebs.
Frankly, considering the messaging, content and ideas behind our sites, it just felt too close to stand out on its own. Beat The Coverage was meant to stand on its own two feet…and today The Quod does just that!
There were months spent trying to come up with sports-driven names. White boards and brainstorming sessions with scribbled names. There were heated discussions and confused looks, not to mention great ideas that were blocked by domain ownership and social media concerns.
Seriously, you won’t believe how difficult it is to come up with a name that no one owns for a domain, let alone via social media.
All of it took place inside my home, as I ran things by my partner in life, my wife Lexi, and a few trusted friends in this business (believe it or not they can and do exist).
So, I want to take some time to thank Lexi for her endless support, her patience (even if she doesn’t think she has it) and most importantly for those rambling talk-through sessions as I wanted to make this change.
I may be the writing and speaking force behind this site, but she’s the one that makes life work at our house and that allows me to take time to do this project.
Thank you dear!
Back to the change at hand though…here at The Quod we continue to evolve our coverage of the Social Justice Sports Writer ( #SJSW) and bias within sports media in general. As we’ve established, the two kind of go hand in hand these days.
Our biggest weapon in the fight to keep sports honest? It’s always been facts. That won’t be changing any time soon. I am promising to double down the efforts to come at you with facts, whether that be laying out what they are on a topic or using them as an argument against a biased article or writer.
Facts, not political ideology or the prevailing mob of opinion will be our driving force. It always has been, but with this name change that’s even more clear.
So, welcome to The Quod — Where Sports Media bias meets fact.
Now go follow us on Twitter @thequodsports and find us on Facebook too.
I appreciate your support for what I’m doing here and thank you sincerely for spreading the word as we ramp up our growth! Keep on spreading the good word and giving me the feedback…it’s appreciated more than you know.