Media Culpability

Why is it that the media "experts" pat themselves on the back when they are right, but are oddly quiet when they are proven wrong or reverse their positions on matters of opinion? It is my personal opinion that people who espouse an opinion in a pubic forum should have the jimmies to own up to their mistakes, but, alas, they rarely do. If I saw such a statement in the press, it would be the first time.

Perhaps some examples would help make the point. First up, Mario Williams. For those that do know him, Mario Williams was a standout defensive end (football) for the NC State Wolfpack in the mid 2000's. During the 2006 NFL draft, the draft experts traded opinions on who would receive the prestigious honor of the first selected player. Conventional wisdom at the time saw a divided opinion on this matter. Half of the experts were convinced that the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush from the University of Southern California would earn this honor, while the other half decided that the Heisman runner-up, Vince Young, from the University of Texas should be selected. The team with the selection, the Houston Texans, shocked the football world by selecting one Mario Williams from NC State. The man responsible for the pick, Charlie Casserly, was castigated in the press for the selection and called a village idiot. The draft experts pounded the table and criticized Casserly at every turn for making what they deemed an irresponsible decision. History has proven Casserly correct. Reggie Bush should have never been selected in the first round and has been a general disappointment as a professional football player. Vince Young is a head case and lacks the maturity to lead a NFL football team. They both flamed out. Meanwhile "Super Mario" has been a defensive force and an all-pro selection. Do I have a problem with the ranting and raving when Williams was selected? No. What I have a problem with is that the draft experts never stepped forward and said "We were wrong". I personally never heard Mel Kiper or Len Pasquarelli apologize for their statements publicly. Why not? Pasquarelli, in particular, owes Casserly a steak dinner for claiming that Charlie's decision was the worst in NFL draft history. It wasn't. Where is the personal responsibility here? Why can't people admit their mistakes? When you are wrong, you are wrong. Own up and move on. It is not that complicated.

The second example revolves around the MotoGP motorcycle racer, Nicky Hayden. In 2009, Nicky signed with the Ducati racing team. The Ducati was known throughout the paddock as a temperamental beast that had killed the career of Marco Melandri. Nicky has struggled on the bike as well. Perhaps not as bad as Marco did, but the expected results never came. Casey Stoner, meanwhile, seemed to have tamed the wild machine, so the conventional wisdom was that the problem was the riders. Nicky and Marco were just not good enough. Casey could win on the damn thing, so why couldn't they? The 2011 racing season saw a shuffling of the riders and the teams they rode for. Most prominent among them was the move of 9-time World Champion Valentino Rossi to the Ducati seat vacated by Stoner as he himself moved to Honda. Immediately, the talented Rossi had problems with the bike and has struggled the entire year on the unforgiving machine. Herein lies the problem. The same members of the motorcycle press that had branded Hayden as a no-talent hack who did not deserve his factory ride were now claiming that the Ducati was not up to snuff. Rossi's ability was not, and shouldn't have been, called into question. There is something wrong with the bike. If Rossi can't ride it and his crew chief, the legendary Jeremy Burgess can't fix it, then something is wrong. I get that. No problem here. The problem is that the press never owned up to their mistake regarding Hayden and Melandri. Not a single one of these bastards has stepped forward and said to Nicky or Marco, "we are sorry that we doubted your ability."

Where's the honor? Where is the responsibility as a member of the public press? Where is the mea culpa?

Apparently nowhere to be found. They should be ashamed of themselves.