“It was never our intent to be out front on this story”

So says ESPN’s senior VP and news director, Vince Doria, in a Q&A with new ombudsman Dan Ohlmeyer, regarding ESPN’s total blackout of the Ben Roethlisberger civil lawsuit filed last month. You may recall that ESPN’s various platforms refused to report on the lawsuit for two and a half days after it broke. I and many other sports fans called BS.

And, a month later, that’s still a pretty BS position to take. Your NEWS organization didn’t feel any particular pressure to report on NEWS? Really? And, I’m sorry, Doria’s defense of prior reporting of civil cases is also BS: “…there were civil claims made against Mike Tyson for reportedly groping a woman in a bar -- because he had spent time in jail for rape, we felt there was a pattern, so ESPN reported it.” In other words, a civil case TOTALLY UNRELATED to Tyson’s criminal past was fair game, just because. Is this reporting, or just sensationalist piling on?

Ohlmeyer’s reaction hits some good points, but it still leaves a little to be desired. For instance, his reference to the Duke lacrosse case – which, if memory serves, ESPN reported – isn’t on point. That was an abuse of power so severe it got the prosecutor disbarred. And ESPN was part of that circus – it can’t now use the circus as an excuse not to report on another story. If ESPN felt the players' innocence was "an aside," then why didn't they do more with it? It's not like they don't have control over their own coverage.

But Ohlmeyer’s right that ESPN still owes its audience a non-hair-splitting explanation for violating their trust.

But the more I thought about it, the more that mantra rang in my ears: "Serve the audience." Even if ESPN judged that it should not report the Roethlisberger suit, not acknowledging a sports story that's blanketing the airways requires an explanation to your viewers, listeners and readers. And in today's world they are owed that explanation right away -- to do otherwise is just plain irresponsible. It forces your audience to ask why the story was omitted. It forces them to manufacture a motive. And it ultimately forces them to question your credibility.

Yep, and question ESPN’s credibility I always will.