With the invention of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, fans are more connected to athletes than they ever have been before.
This raises the question, is it ethical to report on and criticize what players say on their social networking sites? Some believe that if an athlete posts it on their site, then it is fair game. Others believe it is an invasion of the athlete’s privacy.
After the death of Osama bin Laden was reported, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall posted this comment on his Twitter:
"What kind of person celebrates death? It's amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We've only heard one side ... "
Mendenhall then posted these comments:
"I'm not convinced he was even behind the attacks we have really seen no evidence to prove it other than the gov telling us."
"We'll never know what really happened. I just have a hard time believing a plane could take a skyscraper down demolition style."
Mendenhall’s tweets received a lot of publicity and created quite a bit of controversy.
He later tried to clarify his tweets but it was too late. While some people believed he was entitled to sharing his own opinion, others criticized Mendenhall heavily.
In the wake of the tweets, Mendenhall lost his endorsement deal with Champion.
The sporting goods company released this statement:
“Earlier this week, Rashard Mendenhall, who endorses Champion products, expressed personal comments and opinions regarding Osama bin Laden and the September 11 terrorist attacks that were inconsistent with the values of the Champion brand and with which we strongly disagreed.”
This leaves me to question whether Mendenhall would have lost his endorsement deal had the media never made such a big deal out of it.
While Mendenhall’s beliefs were certaintaintly unconventional, were they really worthy of all the negative consequences?
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