Jennifer Bullano and Lester Munson discuss the topic of fair play in sports news
On Wednesday night in the Freeman Auditorium located in the HUB-Robeson Center, Jennifer Bullano and Lester Munson spoke on the topic of fair play in sports news. Bullano, who was a graduate of the College of Communications at Penn State in 2003, is the senior director of communications for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Munson is a writer and reporter for ESPN and ESPN.com while specializing in legal affairs and investigations. Two ethical issues that arose from the discussion were: 1) should the Washington Redskins change their name due to racist implications and 2) the role of social media in false reporting.
Lester Munson touched on how the Washington Redskins have been all over the news recently in regards to their name and if they should change it. The term “Redskin” is a racist term directed towards Native Americans. “Over the centuries, American politicians, soldiers, historians, and reporters used various wrongheaded names for Native Peoples, beginning with Indians…” (King, 2001). The Redskins are not the only sports team with a mascot that many consider offensive. There are the Cleveland Indians, Florida State Seminoles, Atlanta Braves and more. The Redskins have been under the most scrutiny though and many journalists are refusing to use the name.
Jennifer Bullano discussed a personal story that occurred when the Pittsburgh Penguins fired their General Manager. Reports came out that the Penguins were going to fire their GM and their head coach Dan Bylsma. Unfortunately, the second part of the report was not true and the Penguins never intended on firing their head coach. Reporters wanted to be the first to report the news and reported that Bylsma was going to be fired. The news spread all over social media and to no surprise, unsettled Bylsma. This was his livelihood and his reputation on the line and the reporters got it wrong.
I believe the Washington Redskins should not have to change their name yet. The only way they should have to change their name, is if all the teams that have mascots that could possibly offend people are also forced to change their name. It would be unfair to just make one team change their name when the issue is bigger than one team. I also believe that social media plays too big of a role in reporting today. Too many false reports come out today simply because journalists want to be the first to report top news. Unfortunately, there is no way to change this. “The share of Americans for whom Twitter and Facebook serve as a source of news is continuing to rise. This rise comes primarily from more current users encountering news there rather than large increases in the user base overall, according to findings from a new survey,” (Barthel, 2015).
Works Cited
Barthel, Michael. “The Evolving Role of News on Twitter and Facebook.” Pew Research Centers Journalism Project RSS. N.p., 14 July 2015. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
Clement, Scott. “New Poll Says Large Majority of Americans Believe Redskins Should Not Change Name.” Washington Post. The Washington Post, 2 Sept. 2014. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
King, Richard. “Team Spirits.” Google Books. N.p., 1 Jan. 2001. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.