There has to be a reason why the freedoms of speech, press, and religion were all chosen to be a part of the First Amendment. It was as if future generations of Americans needed to be reminded that these were the three most important freedoms on which the foundation of this country would be built.
The freedoms of speech and of the press can be both a gift and a curse because there are consequences to saying or writing certain things. Whether they come in the form of boycotts or backlash, the freedom of speech is a two-way street. If you say something that you know will be considered controversial you can’t forget that all who read or hear you say it share that same freedom with which to respond.
Ted Green, The Senior Sports Editor for Los Angeles-based TV station KTLA, set off a mini firestorm with a blog post he wrote for the Los Angeles Times entitled “Your Guide To Hating The Celtics”.
In the original version of Green’s article, he made a stupid joke about why we should hate Paul Pierce. He wrote “Pierce’s idea of a fun night is going clubbing and getting stabbed.”
In case you don’t know, Pierce was involved in an incident at a Boston night club back in 2000 when he was stabbed 11 times and had a bottle smashed over his head. According to witnesses, Pierce was trying to play peacemaker.
Needless to say, Pierce is lucky to be alive.
According to the LA Times, Green used to cover the Lakers and the NBA for the newspaper. So it isn’t like he was some fan writing a guest column who couldn’t differentiate between what is considered smack talk and what is just distasteful and over the line.
The LA Times has since removed the offensive sentence from the article. If you were to try and read the article now you’d see the following disclaimer:
“[For the record: An earlier version of this post contained an inappropriate comment about Pierce relating to an incident in 2000 in which he was stabbed repeatedly. That comment should not have been published and has been removed.]”
But the LA Times’ corporate sibling, KTLA, still has the article up on it’s website as I’m writing this.
I was made aware of Green’s inappropriate line when I signed on to twitter on Monday morning. RedsArmy.com, one of the more popular Celtics blogs had sent out a link to the article, adding “ha ha ha, Pierce nearly dying is so funny. Wonder if there’ll be any outrage [.]”
I clicked on the link, read the article, and I was embarrassed as a Lakers fan. There are so many things about this Celtics team that you can make fun of. Why pick the darkest non-basketball related moment in someone’s life to get a cheap laugh?
RedsArmy then emailed the LA Times editors asking for an apology and a removal and encouraged his readers to do the same, saying “Keep all emails classy and professional.”
I thought he handled it perfectly.
But then I remembered who RedsArmy is. This is the same guy who sells a tee shirt on his website with Kobe Bryant’s No. 24 in purple and gold and “NO MEANS NO” in the space where Bryant’s name would go on a basketball jersey—including a women’s version in light pink as well as raglan versions in a variety of colors.
Now this guy is telling others to keep something “classy and professional” and emailing complaints because of something that Pierce will never read?
So I sent RedsArmy a message via twitter and we had the following exchange:
Me: I’m not condoning the Pierce joke but what’s the difference between the Pierce joke and selling “No Means No” Kobe tee shirts?
RedsArmy: I’m not sure how “nearly being murdered” and “being accused of rape” are equal. In one, you are the victim of a brutal, unprovoked attack… in the other, you are accused being the attacker. Kinda different.
Me: That’s not the point. The point is in making jokes about serious things. Either you have a sense of humor or you don’t. You are trying to benefit financially off of a rape case. You don’t think there’s something immoral or hypocritical about that? The motive in both instances is the same. A cheap laugh. Not malice.
RedsArmy: Its a victim vs. Attacker thing. If Pierce was accused of doing the stabbing, it would be different .
Me: My issue isn’t with Pierce vs. Kobe. My issue is with you vs. the LA Times. So cheap laughs are only okay when it’s the Lakers?
RedsArmy: I don’t attack victims. That’s my distinction.
Me: But you don’t seem to have a problem profiting off of them. Sorry but that’s a bu*****t response.
RedsArmy: Go for all the cheap laughs you want. I don’t care, that, to me, crossed a line. Well, that’s opinion and certainly entitled to it. I see a distinction. don’t. God bless America.
Me: It’s only crossing the line because it touched a nerve. I’ve seen your tee-shirt for three years but I’m not lame enough to email you. But I agree with you. God Bless America. Agree to Disagree.
RedsArmy: My line and line are different then. If I’m lame for emailing, so be it. I’m comfortable it and take no offense. Yes, agree to disagree.
I understand the point he was trying to make between Kobe being the accused and Pierce being the victim. But I don’t think he understood the point that I was making. Both are distasteful attempts at humor. Do you think Lenny Bruce would ever accuse Andrew Dice Clay of ever saying something that crossed the line? You either play by the rules or you play outside the rules. And if you play outside the rules then you abstain from complaining.
You can’t be selectively sensitive. Especially when you’re selling the shirts for $24.99 each.
Is any of that money being donated to a shelter for battered and abused women? Is any of it going to the accuser?
It didn’t take long until Boston’s public defender, Bill Simmons, decided to get involved in the controversy. Simmons posted a link to the article on twitter as well as an article from a New England website that mentioned the story.
He then mentioned that the LA Times had taken the article down but that it still remained in Google Cache.
He tweeted, “, I’m a free speech proponent & absolutely hate the Apology Era. But making fun of someone nearly getting stabbed to death is really odd[.]”
Really, Bill? You’re upset that it wasn’t removed from Google Cache? You wanted his statement permanently removed from the annals of history?
It was a stupid joke. Let’s have some perspective here. Simmons is the same guy who created a twitter account (@CelticsChants) so he could provide his sheep readers with things to chant while members of the Cavs and the Magic were shooting free throws.
Sensitive much?
It’s been two days since the article was written (and taken down) and most people are still unaware of it’s existence.
The LA Times did the right thing by taking the sentence down but the overreaction by two people who have profited from their own cheap jokes/apparel is laughable.
Don’t throw stones if you live in glass houses. And don’t move into a glass house if you don’t like stones.