465 Unnecessary Bias by Media
I’m usually the one defending newspapers. “They really try to not be bias,” I say to peeved readers who think differently, “you’re just being too sensitive.” But this time I’m throwing a penalty flag for “Unnecessary Bias” for the print media’s coverage of the Super Bowl.
Shortly after he was handed the Lombardi trophy for winning Super Bowl XLI, Indianapolis Colt’s head coach Tony Dungy made the following statement to CBS announcer Jim Nantz: "I'm proud to be the first African-American coach to win this. But again, more than anything, Lovie Smith and I are not only African-American but also Christian coaches, showing you can do it the Lord's way. We're more proud of that."
But I checked several leading national newspapers and without exception by the time their columns had gone to press, Dungy’s comment had become: "I'm proud to be representing the African-American coaches and the first African-American coach to win this." Completely gone was Dungy’s reference to his faith. The newspapers did the same with every other trophy celebration comment Dungy about his faith, as well as those of Colt’s owner Jim Irsay.
I would have flagged Dungy for “Offensive Evangelism” had he said, “First I just want to give all the credit to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who died on the cross for the sins of all sports fans and with every head bowed and every eye closed you need to ask Jesus to come into your life right now.”
But Dungy didn’t do that. Neither did he attribute their win to his religion. He simply said that even more important to him than being the first African-American to win the Super Bowl, is that fact that he could win the biggest prize in all of sports without compromising his ideals. That’s not tacky. That’s not evangelism. And that IS what he said.
I would love to have an editor or sports writer explain how they justify altering the truth. Why are they are afraid to report on Dungy’s faith along with his ethnicity – especially after what he has been through in recent years? He had already lost both of his parents in the last three years, and 18 year old James, the second of Dungy’s five children, committed suicide in December 2005.
No wonder Dungy says his faith is more important to him than football. No wonder when Jim Nantz asked him about overcoming adversity Dungy said, "The Lord doesn't always take you in a straight line. He tests you sometimes." (Another comment cut by the newspapers.) No wonder Dungy often refers to the verse which says, “That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good” (Romans 8:28).
“I had some people ask if I didn’t already know what they were going to say about their faith, but I thought, ‘What’s wrong with them expressing their beliefs?’” Jim Nantz said later. “We allow everybody else to say what they believe, why not them? Have we gotten so jaded in this country that we can't stand to hear the good about a person?”
If you’re a newspaper sports writer or editor apparently the answer is “yes,” even if he’s one of the greatest coaches in the history of football who just led his team to a win in the Super Bowl and who has helped sell countless of their newspapers.
Tweeeeet. Unnecessary Bias! Print what the man said.
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