News and Record Blows It Again - Again

After an initial pathetic excuse for journalism in last Saturday's paper regarding SE High School's wrestling program and MRSA, followed by an even more provocative piece by a second reporter Tuesday, which just added to the appearance of a vast cover up, the News and Record followed with a more positive article Wednesday where pieces of a statement made by the principle were referenced, along with other positive comments regarding the coaches and the wrestling program. So, things were going in the right direction. Then the two families that started the whole mess went to News 2, who ran two stories on the same issue also without doing any better a job of due diligence. Oddly, their online piece was pulled mid morning Wednesday. I wonder why?

I understand that News 2 ran a more balanced piece today. Someone told me that. I missed it.

Then today the News and Record ran a kind of philosophical editorial about how MRSA laws and practices are just so terribly confusing. They should have run an editorial about how their reporter had been so irresponsible. They didn't. Shame on you N&R. You blew it. You messed up. I think you know it. Just say so.

Actually the regulations about MRSA are spelled out on the GCS web site and they really aren't very confusing. The N&R seems confused about different rules regarding school attendance as compared to athletic participation. Duh. Is this hard to understand? Maybe it has something to do with the fact the wrestlers are engaged in serious bodily contact while wrestling, and that bandages can come off the sweaty body of a wrestler during a match.

This isn't rocket science.

And for those who want "the facts," well, the school district cannot release the facts regarding student medical issues. They can't tell you if a student has or doesn't have some disease. Neither can the principal or the coach. There are federal laws and local regulations that are designed to protect the privacy of students. I'm glad those laws are there.

Now, if I were a journalist there are a few questions I would like answered. Why did the N&R reporter tell me on the phone that he had been under pressure to release the story for the Saturday morning paper, even though he had not yet talked to key people involved? Pressure from whom? Why?

Is it true as has been asserted (but not reported) that one of the students involved said several days before the article was released that an article was going to be released? If that is true then it makes it look like the N&R had much of the week to do their due diligence and did not. It may not be true. I'd like to know. Wouldn't you? What did the N&R know, and when did they they know it? (or think they knew it!)

Is it true that the student who was diagnosed with MRSA Thursday was back in school Tuesday? I understand that that is true. So, does he have MRSA? Does he not? I'd like to know. Was he cured? Was there a false positive Thursday? Has he been cleared to wrestle as well as to attend school? There is no way to find out, at least for me. Normally I would say this is nobody's business, except that the News and Record article has defamed the integrity of a coach and a school as regards this student. So, one is curious. I am.

Another question I have is this. In the first article about this matter on Saturday Feb 2, it says: "Doctors diagnosed the MRSA infection Thursday night in Tyler Rush, a 16-year-old sophomore on the Southeast wrestling team, his mother, Sheila Rush, said Friday." But MRSA takes 48 hours to culture. Did the family get a culture back on Thursday from an earlier doctor visit? You cannot diagnose MRSA on the spot. The time line is confusing to me. It makes me wonder.

While I am at it. MRSA is not Ebola. Is not TB. It is serious and can be fatal if untreated like many other bacterial infections such as Haemophilus or Strep B. But MRSA is not considered a communicable disease per se. It cannot be spread in the air. It can't be spread at a water fountain. It can be spread only by skin to skin contact. As far as regular life goes, a good bandage is sufficient. The school's regulations make perfect sense.

It's time for the News and Record to issue a public apology to the principal and coaches at SE High, instead of some philosophical refection about how confusing this all is. That sounds like an excuse or rationalization for poor journalism to me.

As a Christian I believe that in the end my reputation is in God's hands. I cannot control what others say about me no matter how ridiculous. So there is a limit as to how passionately I should care about my own reputation. But I am called to care a lot - a whole lot - about my neighbor's reputation.

The ninth commandment says that we are not to bear false witness against our neighbor. The flip side of this is that we are to work to uphold the integrity of our neighbor's reputation. It takes a lifetime to build a good name. It can be taken away in a moment. This is serious business.

Journalists need to consider this more before they besmurch the good name and reputation of a committed local teacher, coach, athletic director, and principal, and start printing unfounded allegations brought by a third party.

I am waiting for that apology.