I can understand their position and realize that stalking is very serious and more than a little scary for some people who have been the victim of stalkers. Same goes for things like hidden cameras, and all that shit that stalkers use. Things like peephole reversers…
Did you know these things actually existed? I had no idea. I really hope the
But, at the same time if we say that we’re not allowed to make light of anything that can potentially be a very serious thing then we don’t get to make light of anything at all! And what someone who has never met me, knows nothing about me and makes no attempt to know anything about me thinks of me isn’t my concern. Besides, inappropriate humor is the best kind of humor. Oh, and then there’s the name of this blog, which should help people out when they are wondering if I’m being serious or just sarcastic.
But, sometimes people just go way too far and this past week someone did I feel like instead of making light of it I really should say something.
A website (that I will NOT link to) posted a video that they claimed was of ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews walking around a hotel room naked. Unfortunately the site pulled the video before I could get there. But, now that I know the alleged facts of this case, I’m glad I didn’t get a chance to see the video.
Erin Andrews…
For those of you who don’t know who Ms. Andrews is, she works for ESPN and does all the sideline reporting at major sporting events and interviews athletes and coaches. Yes, I agree that sideline reporters can be very annoying and that the networks should eliminate them. But, Andrews is a professional and she is very good at her job. She’s not a model who just happens to have been hired by ESPN to do this. She really is a journalist by trade and education.
She is also the darling of the sports blog world. The fact that she is drop dead gorgeous has made her the topic of discussion on sports blog for a long time now. She is also very popular among sports fans who try to get pictures of her on the sidelines and even try to get a pic of themselves with her from time to time.
None of this is a problem. She is popular and beautiful and when she’s in public like this taking pictures of her is to be expected and not creepy at all. Well, maybe when people take close up pics of her ass it is, but just regular old everyday pics of her isn’t any big deal.
However, this video isn’t anything like that. Andrews wasn’t going Paris or Britney or Lindsay on us here. She wasn’t walking around in a public place with her cooter hanging out. She wasn’t spreading her legs open while getting out of a vehicle so as to expose herself to the hundreds of cameras focused on her.
She was in the privacy of her own hotel room.
Somebody recorded this video of her either through the peephole in the door, or through a peephole specifically made for this. This is a truly outrageous and disgusting invasion of her privacy.
Hey look, nobody wants to see Erin Andrews naked more than me. But, I want it to happen the normal way. You know, either through a sex tape that she made that got released and she made lots and lots of money off of it, or while she was romping around naked on a beach somewhere. You know, in public where you don’t have the expectation of privacy that you have in your hotel room. Anyone, famous or not, who gets photos taken of them while naked in public doesn’t have much room to complain.
Disney/ABC/ESPN’s lawyers have released a statement confirming that this is Andrews and making it clear that they will assist her in her attempts to find out who did this and they will then go after this person in both civil and criminal court. And my guess is they will do just that. I highly doubt that the owner of the website who posted the videos will be able to withstand the pressure that Disney/ABC/ESPN will be able to put on them and will at some point have to tell where the video came from.
It’s one thing to publish a story that you dug up from anonymous sources about a wireless surveillance program run by the government or whatever and refuse to ever give up your sources. But, I don’t know that this guy is going to have much legal ground to stand on. Even if he tries to call himself a “journalist” and use the 1st amendment as cover, I don’t think it covers this kind of invasion of privacy.
So, I’m hoping that they track down the freak who did this and simply ruin his life. I hope they press criminal charges against him and he spends some time in a special room where there is no privacy at all. And then, I hope Erin takes him to civil court and gets a judgment against him that results in garnishment of his wages for the rest of his natural life.
Mostly though, I hope that when this guy is caught he is held up to national scorn and condemnation. But, you know what? I’m really afraid that the opposite will happen. I’m afraid he will become another pseudo-celebrity and will actually be held up as a kind of a hero by the sports blogs and others and will get rich off all of this. I think that’s what bothers me most of all about things like this.
