Notes on ESPN’s Dishonesty & Ethics (Or Lack Thereof)

This is not a big deal and not worth a frontpage post but it's certainly worth noting here on BN. I want to add couple of points to Westwood Wizard's excellent post taking apart ESPN's smearmentary "documentary" which targeted UCLA to make a point about filmsy oversight in NCAA athletics. As WW noted pointedly while UCLA athletics may have number of issues it needs to address "this ain't one."

The whole premise of the film was ridiculous as Luchs drove up a private access road being used by construction vehicles doing work on Pauley Pavilion to demonstrate his "point." Moreover, contrary to his insinuation it is not an NCAA violation for a student-athlete to speak with an agent as long as he or she does not accept anything from that agent.

In addition to the obvious problems with this film, there are couple of additional points worth making here. This has to do with how dishonest and unethical ESPN was when it promoted this nonsense.

First, even though ESPN's "film-makers" passive aggressively suggested that there are issues concerning oversight at UCLA, it did not bother including the salient point that just one month ago UCLA was certified by the NCAA which denotes that it "operates its athletics program in compliance with operating principles adopted by the Division I membership." I don't recall ESPN mentioning that anywhere in their "documentary." Conveniently they left this document out of their broadcast.

Second, ESPN also forgot to mention how the network hosts perhaps the biggest fansite of none other than UCLA's rival Southern Cal. Yes sirree, you think ESPN has a little conflict of interest problem here as they are the "home" network of WeAreSC.com, which they relentlessly promote on their official Pac-12 platform. [Sidenote: I don't have to get into much detail about the Trojan shilling of SChilly Smith].

One would think if ESPN had a shred of integrity, they would provide the full context and disclosure how they are financially tied to UCLA's most hated rival while attempting score a pathetic hit job on UCLA. But as we saw from the ugly and disgusting Leach/Feldman saga, honesty and decency are not part of the SOP at the Mickey Mouse Operation that is preoccupied with the bottom line - profits - over actually presenting an impartial and objective view on sports.

Keep all of this in mind next time you see these losers try to launch another pathetic hit around NCAA issues and UCLA. When it comes to ethics and following rules, ESPN shouldn't be throwing stones.

GO BRUINS.