Media member sells Kyle Rudolph's gloves on eBay

Journalists shouldn't have charities. That they do is a knock on them and the people who allowed it.

 

Agreed.

 

Oscar Madison-
I've been trying to find a way to be freed of old media guides. The library doesn't want them - and I can't blame them.
I don't want to make anything off them, but I don't toss books out of principle.
Some of them I like for artistic/sentimental value and will keep. Many I don't like.

 

Maybe generalizing here, but I also don't think a beat writer would even ask for an item like that. They'd know better. Columnists seem to think they're a bit bigger and that they have more personal relationships with athletes, and would probably be more comfortable asking for it.
Rudolph is from Cincinnati and played at Notre Dame, so the Indianapolis connection might make some sense there. Could be somebody he knows from way back, which would also explain why he'd give up the gloves with (presumably) no questions asked. Maybe it's someone who covered Notre Dame at some point, or worked in Cincinnati when he was in high school there?

 

One story I read is that he's pretty generous and wouldn't have questioned it anyway with the charity angle. It also seemed he knew who it was but it wasn't a local or national writer.

There are all sorts of people who can get credentials like these and to big events. Some sort of PR, photogs, working for leagues, on behalf of leagues, who knows. My guess is not traditional media or what we would view as traditional media. And if he was any of what could have gotten a credential he's probably not in a good place right now. With his eBay profile and the fact that Rudolph knows who he is, plus the other players he sold signed gloves, they'll figure it out pretty quickly. He probably isn't going to the Super Bowl to load up confetti that's for sure.

 

Too many conflicts of interest possible.

 

We're talking in a "perfect world" here of course - journalism is kind of too far gone to still deal with ethics, beyond plagerism and fabrication at this point. Many journos are working for two or three media outlets, tv-radio-print - some are roped in to participating in charities, others have a personal connection to a cause. And lets not get into the corporate overloards pushing charities of their choosing.
The point isn't the worthiness of the charity, but the conflict of interest. Charities have proven to be a way to curry favor, gain access to people, and use for your own personal benefit.
How many corporations used the Komen group to help their brand reach the women's market? How many brands are using our gratitude for soldiers and vets to push their products? And yes - the NFL is guilty on both counts.

 

Buyer gives money to charity after all, according to Strib: Sold online, gloves of Vikings' Kyle Rudolph raise money for charity after all

 

The seller might as well still ship the gloves. He got paid for them and his eBay side biz is probably through regardless. If he doesn't ship them PayPal will likely refund, the hospital and buyer still benefit and he's out the money, probably his current job and gets even more bad pub than he already has.