If Joe Paterno can lose his job because of his failure to contact police regarding the Jerry Sandusky matter, everyone at Outside the Lines should be fired for their reporting on the Bernie Fine case.
Eight years ago, Bobby Davis, who was allegedly molested by Fine for many years, contacted ESPN with his story.
Accompanying his allegations was an audio recording of a conversation between Davis and Fine’s wife Laurie, in which she exhibited direct knowledge of his “issues.”
But ESPN never reported the story and more importantly, never contacted law enforcement.
Now that the charges against Fine have become public, ESPN decided to put the audio on air in a segment of “Outside the Lines.”
The Worldwide Leader waited eight years to shed light on a possible sex abuse case, yet no one is holding Bob Ley or the producers of Outside the Lines accountable.
ESPN claims that no one could corroborate Davis’ accusations and as a result, Outside the Lines likely felt that reporting on the story would have potentially caused harm to someone who might be innocent.
While ESPN might be able to hide behind the professional media’s sanctimonious “journalistic ethics” standard they love to flaunt, everyone involved in the Fine case failed to meet their moral obligations.
It’s become obvious that ESPN – particularly Ley and the producers of Outside the Lines – weren’t interested in doing the right thing, but they were very keen on getting the scoop and being out front with their reporting.
Sports reporters are often thought to be on the bottom run of the journalistic ladder, but no one, regardless of where they stand among the journalism hierarchy, gets to hide behind the First Amendment when it involves child abuse.
Outside the Lines had Davis’ statement and a conversation between him and Fine’s wife who appeared to be a witness. Even if there wasn’t enough to report, there certainly was enough for ESPN to approach the attorney general or law enforcement.
Just as Paterno, athletic director Tim Curley and Penn State president Graham Spanier were among those fired for failing to report Sandusky’s alleged molestation of children, all of the people at ESPN who failed to tell law enforcement about Fine’s alleged abuse should be fired.
