Interesting blog post in Houston

I think he's a good reporter, though I'd agree he's not a good writer. And, yes, he does seem to give himself a bit too much credit.

 

This was totally irresponsible all the way around.

First, the player has no business hitting on an attractive member of the opposite sex who is simply there to do her job. If you are a married man, you have no business hooking up with strangers while you are on an out-of-town business trip.

Second, the intern/reporter has no business getting involved with a professional athlete from some traveling team who is obviously looking for a one-night fling. Nothing good will come from this. Instead of accepting his phone number, she should have walked away and/or reported the incident to the PR person for that team.

And posting this stuff on Facebook is just the height of stupidity. It's along the lines of saying "Here's my latest scalp".

Thirdly, Ortiz has no business sticking his nose into any of this or publishing it, either on the web or in print. This helps no one.

Fourthly, the Chronicle has no business posting pictures of this person. Rightly or wrongly, her reputation is damaged and she'll be the butt of bar-room and press box jokes as long as she's in the area. What she did was stupid, but the punishment is a little on the high side, too.

 

If you post something ---- like this --- on the internet, you damn well better expect the whole world to read it. Otherwise, why post it in the first place?

 

The defense lawyer in me -- and I'm not a lawyer of any stripe -- says she didn't actually admit to recording the phone number for the purposes of bragging.

While I'm at it, I haven't seen where the Chronicle published photos of anybody involved in this story. Am I missing something?

 

If an intern can't act responsibly, they don't need to be there. Let them go cover high school soccer, or whatever.

When a team issues a working media credential, it is for that purpose and needs to be respected. If it's abused, the organization has every right to pull it. Too often, we in the media feel it's our God-given right to attend these events, sit in the press box and go to the clubhouses. Passes are issued at the discretion of the club and/or league and can be revoked accordingly.

 

So the purpose would be.........?

 

True enough. But if the Nationals are really considering revoking all credentials of all interns, they're in the wrong. Group punishment for individual crime isn't a great idea.

 

It might be an observation. It might be a cover-your-backside type of thing. (If, for example, the player later brags to his friends that he had a fling with her, having the number in the phone could prove quickly that there was no communication between them.) Again, I'm just speculating here.

 

Who was the gal posted in photo on the previous page? Was that someone else?

 

Holy crap, this post is awesome.

 

I don't like the idea of a blanket action against all interns. If it were a radio reporter that took the number, would all radio reporters be banned? I think the appropriate response is to take action against the people involved and let that lesson serve its purpose to the rest in position to make similarly poor decisions.

 

You really thought that was her? Awesome.