Journalists gone wild

John Rocker, Mike Price and Gary Barnett. What do these three have in common? \nSimple -- they've all been subjected to irresponsible reporting by the well-renowned Sports Illustrated magazine.\nIn 1999, John Rocker was on top of the world. He was one of the best closers in baseball, with the team he grew up dreaming of playing for, the Atlanta Braves.\nAs '99 came to a close, Rocker made the gravest mistake of his life. Rocker allowed a Sports Illustrated reporter to accompany him for a road game at Shea Stadium, where Rocker served as public enemy number one. \nAny baseball fan who had watched Rocker play knew he was a man full of emotion and was bound to say some stupid things in what he would think is jest. So in his interview, he did just that -- was asked suggestive questions and answered them just as the reporter had hoped. \nAfter the article had been printed, Rocker had been branded a racist, nativist and homophobe.\nNowhere in the article are there any interviews from Rocker's teammates inquiring whether or not they believe Rocker to be a racist. \nOnly days later, when the damage was already done, did Rocker's teammates come to his defense, saying they've played with him for years and never knew him to be a racist. Black minor league teammates even went as far as to say Rocker had been a saving grace for them when they toiled in Macon, Ga., Rocker's hometown. \nIs Rocker perfect? Of course not. He's most definitely homophobic, as are the vast majority of professional athletes, not to mention the current President of the United States. \nRocker's been shunned by many Major League owners. He's been cut by the Indians, Rangers and Devil Rays since his glory days in Atlanta. He's had his chances, but the damage was done and so is his career. \nMike Price was one of the most well-respected coaches in college football in early 2003. He had just led his Washington State Cougars to the Rose Bowl and had taken one of the most coveted coaching jobs in all of college sports -- head football coach at Alabama. \nBut April 17, 2003, Price went to a strip club in Pensacola, got drunk and had a woman charge $1,000 in room service to his room. Price doesn't dispute these claims.\nWhat Price does dispute are the additional "details" SI printed made by an unidentified woman claiming Price took two women back to his hotel room and had sex with them. \nThe article also claimed, again conveniently by unidentified sources, Price had propositioned female students while drinking at a bar and was later seen stumbling around campus.\nPrice, who never even signed his contract at Alabama, was fired following an investigation citing Price's failure to live his "personal and professional life in a manner consistent with university policies." \nPrice is suing the magazine, citing seven parts of the article for being inaccurate, including the "aggressive sex" that never happened, the fondling of waitresses and buying female students drinks. \nWith the suit pending, Price has moved on. Luckily, he has been given a second chance. \nSure, UTEP is a far cry from the football gods of Alabama, but Price just wants a chance to coach again, and SI's irresponsible journalism almost took that away from him.\nNow Gary Barnett is at the center of the most recent firestorm created by Sports Illustrated. \nA former Colorado kicker, Katie Hnida, claimed that while at CU she was verbally abused and, at one point, raped by a teammate. Mind you, this all supposedly occurred in 2001. \nWhy is this just coming out now? \nWell, with the recent recruiting violations being made public, SI went looking for a story and boy did they find one. Based solely on speculation and allegations, CU players have been transformed from just trying to show recruits a good time to rapists. \nHnida stated in the article she was scared Barnett would kick her off the team, so she didn't report the incident. Football doesn't transcend the law, and I understand the sensitivity of the issue and know thousands of rapes go unreported, but if you were raped, go to the police, not to Sports Illustrated three years after the fact during an onslaught of allegations. \nWhile I get branded an insensitive, chauvinistic pig, I question Hnida's claim. Who out there would have believed the five members of the St. John's basketball team had they not had proof to clear their names? \nI'm not sure I would have. A new belief of guilty until proven innocent has taken hold of this country and with articles being printed, gaining more and more people fame, who knows what's next to come.