All Blog Posts from Public Eye

So there’s this guy, he played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons the past few years … I forget his name … haven’t heard too much about him recently, you know?

If that sounds like you – or anybody you know who’s been living a recluse Unabomber-esque existence for the past few months – the National Football League isn’t going to mess with that.

But for the rest of us, the fact that the NFL has gone into damage control mode over Michael Vick’s criminal problems is ridiculous, bordering on absurd – maybe even insulting. According to yesterday’s Detroit Free Press, the league is trying to dab Wite-out over all references to Mr. Vick.

The "NFL Quarterback Challenge" -- which was supposed to air on ESPN this month -- may never see the light of day.

Why? Because Michael Vick was in the annual skills competition, taped in May, and the NFL is trying to erase all traces of his existence.

See how well that worked? You’re not going to see him on the field – likely between “The World’s Strongest Man” and replays of some competitive eating contest – so you’re going to completely forget about him. It’s like the little magic amnesia machines from “Men in Black.”

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What do you get when you combine a sportscaster – who mostly gabs over highlight clips, with an occasional quip – with a controversial hard news story?

Among the printable ways I could describe it, how about …. Trouble?

CNN’s sports anchor Larry Smith was on the frequently-unwatchable “Nancy Grace” program last week, discussing the Michael Vick story. Grace was wondering why Michael Vick wasn’t choosing to face the media to discuss the federal case being brought against him and showed a clip of Kobe Bryant – during his sexual assault case – sitting before a throng of reporters, with his wife at his side. The discussion went like this:

Grace: That is Kobe Bryant after rape allegations were leveled against him, which he beat, I might add. And sitting next to him in that exact presser was his wife.

Out to Larry Smith, CNN sports correspondent and CNN anchor. What`s Vick afraid of? Come on. He`s been in front of the camera a million times. What`s so hard about declaring your innocence?

Smith: Yes, well, that`s -- he`s been in a lot of trouble lately, when you think about all the other incidents, and this is just the worst one of all. Keep in mind, too, that while Kobe Bryant is a situation we can sort of compare this to, this really is much worse. [Emphasis Mine] Not only can you argue that the crimes are much worse in terms of, you know, killing dogs and that kind of thing, but as an NFL starting quarterback, you are the most visible face in that city. I`ve said all along, in fact, you know, if you go through and, you know, very quickly name 10 mayors of major cities in the country...

Grace: Larry Smith, did I just hear you say...

Yeah, Nancy. You just heard what you thought you heard. CNN’s Larry Smith was saying that Michael Vick’s potential crime was “much worse” than the rape charges made against Kobe Bryant. That’s problematic on so many levels I don’t know where to start.

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It's Thursday, and that means it's time for the Public Eye Chat. This week's subject is CBS News National Correspondent Byron Pitts, who reported this week’s “Philadelphia: City Under Siege” investigative piece – where he took a look at the crime rate in the City of Brotherly Love.

Matthew Felling: I remember “Boys in the Hood” back in the ‘90s. I remember the debate over midnight basketball leagues – urban violence was on the front burner. Those stories have abated, so viewers likely think things have improved. What are you seeing on the streets of America?

Byron Pitts: Truth be told, in most places, street crime didn’t diminish. America’s attention just went elsewhere. In Philadelphia, for example, they’ve had a steady increase in the murder rate in the past six years – with the expectation that it’s going to go up this year. Already in Philadelphia this year, there’s been one person killed per day. This past Sunday, five people were killed.

I spent some time with the Philadelphia Police Commissioner, a guy named Sylvester Johnson. An old school cop, a cop’s cop. Been in the force for over 40 years. When I asked him ‘What happened all of a sudden to make violent crime such a pressing issue?’ He looked at me like I was crazy. He said ‘Where have you been? It didn’t just get bad yesterday or last year. It’s been bad for a growing number of years.’

In the case of Philadelphia over the past few years, their police department has gotten smaller – while others, like New York City, have gotten larger. Philadelphia has some of the laxest gun laws in the country. We found that in a number of neighborhoods in Philadelphia, it’s probably easier for a kid to get a handgun than a cell phone.

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With predecessors like the “Summer of the Shark” and the “Summer of Chandra” guiding my judgement, a few weeks ago I attempted in this space to predict a “Summer of...” story that we’d be force fed from here to Labor Day.

My prognostication – that of a “Summer of Steroids” — was based on potential steroid involvement in the double murder/suicide of professional wrestler Chris Benoit and Barry Bond’s chase of Major League Baseball’s home run record.

Turns out I was only half right. The Chris Benoit story has faded from public view, as the Georgia medical examiner determined that steroids did not play a role in the tragedy. But the Barry Bonds story continues to resonate in the news media, so … Okay, so maybe half right is a stretch. It looks like I was one-sixth right, as the Bonds story is one of three that have taken over American newscasts in the past week.

Yes, the summer story has finally made itself known, at least as far as The Microsoft Network is concerned: the Summer of 2007 is now the “Summer of Scandal,” with three stories from the sports world stirring up a tide of outrage in America.

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