Sometimes I Just Expect Better

Over at E. C. Huey for Guilford School Board there is an interesting piece about MRSA-gate, and by that I mean the N&R's cover up of their own pathetic reporting practices. Well, that is not Huey's angle, that's mine. You should read Huey's story, which includes John Robinson's story.

In his piece Huey references and quotes John Robinson, whose own piece is really full of bologna. Robinson says one thing that sends chills down my spine, "I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. When a reporter calls with questions, tell what you know even if you don’t want to. If you stonewall, you put yourself at the mercy of those who WILL talk to the reporter."

Wow, such power. They must really get off on that. Hey, it may be true. That may be how this world works, but I'm thinking, did I just get transported to China or Iran? Weird.

Contrary to what is claimed by Mr. Robinson, and further commented upon over at Huey's, the school administration does in fact know the appropriate steps to be taken, and they were taken. As to Robinson’s take on the urgency of the story, well, there were two stories, one which should have been released immediately, one which should not have been. That a student at a school has MRSA is a matter of public health and people need to know that. But the question as to whether people at the school had been encouraging the student to wrestle anyway knowing he has a staph infection is a whole different matter. That really needs to be checked out. The original reporter told me that leaving messages late on a Friday amounted to doing “everything” to fact check his story. So, he e-mails or leaves a voice mail late on a Friday and does not hear back by the deadline, and he considers that doing everything? All that needed to be said was that a case of MRSA had been reported. The rest could have waited. The reporter also said to me that he was under pressure to print the story. That interests me.

The wrestler in question wrestles not only at SE but also in a wrestling club in Jamestown. Has anyone looked into that? The same wrestler had been diagnosed with staph a month before and had not been wrestling with SE since then. Had he been wrestling at the other place? I wonder? But anyway, what was the big public health issue on Friday?

Robinson’s comments that doing a better job getting the story amounts to killing the story is ridiculous. You’re talking about ruining a man’s reputation. Give me a break.

And, by the way, the Cox’s have no record of having been contacted by the reporter. Maybe he called them, maybe he didn’t. What number did he call - the school number? Was Coach Cox around? A cell number? A home number? Did he leave a voice mail?

How many voice mails do you get which you do not access or even know about for an hour or two. I get a lot. The Cox’s know of no call. They are truthful people.

By the time Tuesday came around, after the original story, particularly given what had been released Saturday, you bet that folks aren’t going to talk to the reporter. I wouldn't. Besides, the information that school officials potentially have which would vindicate them they can’t release. It’s not only HIPAA laws it’s valid local GCS regulations about releasing information about students. But by Tuesday it was too late for that.

This story on Saturday had nothing whatsoever - not even the slightest little thing - to do with keeping this from turning into some nightmare. The kid hadn’t wrestled for the school for a month. What nightmare was avoided? The school would not let a kid who had not wrestled for a month wrestle? So, where is the big news in that?

Is anybody other than me curious that the same kid was back in school Tuesday? It’s a sidebar, but I am curious.

In other words, there was nothing happening or going to happen that was kept from happening by the Saturday story. A boy who was not wrestling anyway continued not to be able to wrestle. Wow. That’s big news.

The public has a right to know the real story, and that is the motive behind the parent’s anger at the coaches. This story is the same old story - a parent mad at a coach because his little boy isn’t playing enough or whatever. Been there. Done that. It will all come out, in time.

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.

The News and Record Blows It - Again

After printing a defamatory article regarding a local coach and local high school on Saturday morning without having done due diligence in checking the facts first, the News and Record had an opportunity to make things right. But they didn't. They made things worse still.

The headline today (in the online version of the article anyway) reads: "Coach declines to respond to charge he ignored staph."

The staff writer, Robert Bell, chose to sensationalize the matter even more by framing a headline, and a story, around the appearance of stonewalling and further cover up. In other words, the follow up creates the appearance that the parties that should have been thoroughly interviewed in the first place are now stone walling the media, hiding behind their lawyers, or whatever.

The back story remains unreported. The back story in this case is absolutely key. I think that it is the common experience of most people involved in sports that there is always drama on the fringes. One parent has it out for a coach for whatever reason, talks to other people who are unhappy for whatever reason, and soon enough gossip is flying around like nobody’s business. This is true in recreation league sports. It is true in school sports. There is always some kind of drama and some kind of backbiting behind the scenes. It’s amazing anyone agrees to coach anything.

A cautious and thorough investigation would have revealed all this, but it is too late now.There are two problems that make getting to the truth at this point very difficult.

First, now that the original story has been printed, and accusations have been made, the issue potentially has become a legal one. If what was printed Saturday were true, the coaches and principals could be victims of lawsuits, civil or criminal, or, they could be forced into a position to file lawsuits.

Second and trickier still, the only way to refute the charges in an unambiguous manner is to present detailed medical information regarding the various students. But that would be a direct violation of federal HIPAA laws.

Let’s imagine that a women suffering from paranoid schizophrenia with delusional issues calls the paper and says that on Thursday at 2:00pm I sexually assaulted her in my office. Let’s say that on Thursday at 2:00pm there was no one in my office but me. Let’s say that the paper calls me and leaves me a voice mail, and I don’t return the call before print deadline. So they run an article about how a local woman claims to have been sexually assaulted by a pastor in his office. Even if I had gotten the voice mail and returned the call I would not be able to talk about the person’s medical history. I could only say it didn’t happen. I could not verify that it didn’t happen because we don’t have cameras up in our office (maybe we should). My reputation would be in the toilet. People are ready to believe almost any kind of sordid news story. Once the story was out I would be in touch with a lawyer and I would not be saying anything else. I have no idea what would happen to me.

The News and Record has let itself get caught up in a personal vendetta. I am not meaning to imply that the parties are mentally ill. I simply needed to illustrate how something like this could play out in my situation. The comparison has to do with personal medical information and it is handled. Whatever medical diagnoses these students had, and when they had them, well, the coaches cannot tell that to the paper. It is against the law.

By letting itself get caught up in a personal grudge the News and Record has soiled the reputation of a good man and good coach, and called into question the commitment of a school and school system to student and public health. It all seems more fitting for the National Inquirer than our local paper.

The school principle (who is also an extremely good man with the highest personal integrity) and the wrestling coach of SE High have submitted a joint statement to the media relations folks at Guilford County Schools. As far as I understand things, that will have to do for now.

It remains the case that there is no basis for any of the claims that have been made.

An overwhelming percentage of parents and students who are involved in the program at SE High and who are more than aware of the standard practices to protect student and public safety, and who know the character of the coaches and principal at SE High, will have a chance to speak their mind. But as a media issue, because the News and Record jumped the gun, the detailed facts of the case will not be able to be brought to the public eye.

I am extremely disappointed in the quality of reporting of our local paper as revealed by this whole business. It seems that truth is quite secondary to sensationalism. That disturbs me. I am not going to cancel my subscription because I like the Sudoku puzzles too much, but I will take a more cynical posture toward anything I read henceforth. You should too.

The News and Record Blows It

You know, you wish and hope, do you not, that when you open up your paper on a Saturday morning (or any other morning) that what is reported by a local reporter has some connection to the truth. But after this weekend, and a phone conversation I just had with a reporter, I no longer can believe that that is the case.

I just got off the phone with a reporter from the News and Record named Ryan Seals who authored an article printed Saturday morning about a "cover up" of MRSA (that nasty staph infection going around) by the wrestling coaches at SE High school. Yes, it is true, one of the students on the wrestling team had been diagnosed with MRSA. The public needs to know that. But the rest of the story, the whole "cover up" theme, was not time sensitive and needed to be checked out first - and I mean really checked out. I tried to to make a point with Mr. Seals that he had not done due diligence in corroborating his story, especially when the integrity of multiple people was at stake, and especially still when dealing with a public health matter as serious as MRSA. He kept insisting that he had done everything he could reasonably do to fact-check for his article. He believes he did. But he didn't come close. And that is scary to me.

I am sitting here astounded, flabbergasted, flummoxed, by the sheer immaturity and naivite of this young reporter. He alluded to pressure on him to get the story out. Hmmm. I'd like to know more about that.

So, the gist is that a complaint has been made by a couple of sets of parents regarding the coaches at SE High School. There is a significant and ongoing back-story about these families and their relationship to the coaching staff at SE High which bears directly upon the charges being made.

So, highly inflammatory charges are made by a person calling the paper regarding another person and the reporter believes that calling a few people late on a Friday afternoon and leaving messages which are not returned before the deadline amounts to doing "everything that could be done" to verify the story.

Does he have any concept of the work cycle of teachers and school employees? Does he have any concept of real life? How many people to whom you send an e-mail or leave a voice mail call you back immediately? So Mr. Seals calls and leaves messages (of which some of the parties have no record) and he believes he has done due diligence? Is this the journalistic standard of the News and Record? Or do they enjoy ruining people's lives as a hobby?

The basic charge in the article is that the coaches at SE were telling students with MRSA to cover up their sores and to wrestle anyway. But this does not make any sense. Students cannot wrestle with bandages without the referee checking what's under the bandage. There is no evidence whatsoever that the coach said any such thing. It makes no sense for him to say such a thing. To do so would not only be a breach of every kind of ethics, but criminal negligence, or worse. But again, wrestling matches do not work in such a way that that is how a sore would be covered up anyway. It is totally ridiculous. If a coach wanted to fool a referee he would have his wrestler take off bandages and hope the referee did not see any blemishes.

The coach, Mr. Jim Cox, is a long standing public servant who has taught for over thirty years, and coached wrestling for the better part of his career. His son works with him at the school as well. They follow a strict guideline - if anyone has a blemish, as much as a zit - they are given a form and cannot wrestle until a doctor has seen the blemish. This is standard procedure and has been followed faithfully at SE and probably every other school in the county. There is no evidence that such procedures were set aside.

What really gets my goat is the flimsy and cavalier attitude regarding the facts in a story that could ruin a reputation and a career as well as cause widespread lack of confidence in our school system, all because of a personal grudge carried by a member of the community against another. The paper ought to have the ability to know the context of such charges before running with them.

I am further bothered because I have known and been associated one way or another with many different coaches in different sports over the course of the last several years as my daughters have been actively involved in sports at NW High School. The folks that coach sports work long hours for very little extra pay, if any, and deserve the benefit of the doubt, which means a real attempt to check facts, and not a witch hunt like this.

I know this goes out late on a Monday. In my case I have actually talked on the phone to the primary subject of this blog piece. I wouldn't think of writing a story about him without so doing - no matter what pressure I was getting.

I will write more tomorrow, after the News and Record's follow up story. I hope this won't be a N&R cover up of a bad story. Be ready reporters. I am going to be all over you on this.

Oh, and I have a new lead. I am told that students spoke as far back as last Tuesday about an article to come out in the paper. I really hope that is not true. Don't you Mr. Seals?