Out of all the topics posted on the
blog, the topic that was most interesting to me was Britt McHenry’s outburst.
The reason Britt’s video that was posted on TMZ caught my attention the most is because
all semester we talked about how to behave in situations and how ethics plays a
role in our daily lives. Britt is a public figure. Her presence must be
monitored at all times because she represents ESPN both on and off camera.
Seeing her reaction to getting her car towed was not only slightly comical, but
disgraceful.
The woman who was working at the tow shop had zero control over the tow truck towing Britt’s car, yet Britt took all of her anger and frustration out on this woman. A major lesson I took away from our class this semester is that ethics needs to be applied in all situations. While we focused on ethics in sport, ethics needs to be maintained in daily life. Making the right decisions, handling situations properly, and interacting with other people are such crucial aspects of life both professionally and socially. Britt’s outburst consists of her demeaning the woman’s education, appearance, and job. Who is Britt to judge this woman? Maybe this woman was unable to afford a college education and this is the only job she was able to get. This woman could be college educated and decided she wanted to operate a tow truck company. Whatever the reason may be, this woman should not be degraded by Britt for reasons that did not at all correlate with Britt’s car getting towed.
The way ESPN handled this situation is also a major ethical issue. Britt should have been let go from her position on this highly publicized station. ESPN has set an example now that sports anchors, athletes, etc. can behave inappropriately but still reap the benefits of being employed by EPSN. Seeing as there are many beautiful, talented anchors that would die to work for ESPN, it’s not like they would have had a hard time replacing Britt for an anchor that possesses class and an ethical demeanor.
The woman who was working at the tow shop had zero control over the tow truck towing Britt’s car, yet Britt took all of her anger and frustration out on this woman. A major lesson I took away from our class this semester is that ethics needs to be applied in all situations. While we focused on ethics in sport, ethics needs to be maintained in daily life. Making the right decisions, handling situations properly, and interacting with other people are such crucial aspects of life both professionally and socially. Britt’s outburst consists of her demeaning the woman’s education, appearance, and job. Who is Britt to judge this woman? Maybe this woman was unable to afford a college education and this is the only job she was able to get. This woman could be college educated and decided she wanted to operate a tow truck company. Whatever the reason may be, this woman should not be degraded by Britt for reasons that did not at all correlate with Britt’s car getting towed.
The way ESPN handled this situation is also a major ethical issue. Britt should have been let go from her position on this highly publicized station. ESPN has set an example now that sports anchors, athletes, etc. can behave inappropriately but still reap the benefits of being employed by EPSN. Seeing as there are many beautiful, talented anchors that would die to work for ESPN, it’s not like they would have had a hard time replacing Britt for an anchor that possesses class and an ethical demeanor.
By: Kali Morgenstern
I agree with Kali. The situation with Britt McHenry is a perfect illustration of how ethics and the sports world can be tied together.
ReplyDeleteAs a reporter and employee of ESPN, "the worldwide leader in sports" McHenry must adhere to their ethical code of conduct.The other side of the coin is that in the grand scheme of things, she is just someone who reports the sports news. She doesn't make any monumental decisions that effect the world and for her to act and carry herself as if she did is embarrassing.
I know that she has an important role, but it's bad to jeopardize who you are as a person because you may think you deserve preferential treatment because you work for ESPN. This is something all of us must recognize and take with us moving forward; the bigger picture. While sports can bring so much entertainment and importance to many, there are also far bigger issues in the world and we must not forget our purpose.
I would have to agree with Kali in saying that the way ESPN handled this situation was inappropriate and I cannot believe that she was not let go. Her derogatory comments towards to tow lot employee send an incredibly selfish and snobby message to many other people who hold lower level jobs in comparison to McHenry.
ReplyDeleteBeside from my disgust with her personal comments, ESPN as an organization is sending the wrong message and is basically condoning this behavior and saying "this behavior is acceptable and we will not penalize someone who represents our company for saying these things."She is the face of this organization and it is hard for me to comprehend that ESPN is okay with this behavior. What if a famous athlete of other news anchor has a relative or a spouse who is engaged in employment similar to that of the employee that McHenry insulted? I can’t imagine that her co-workers were okay with this behavior, but the hiring/firing committee of ESPN clearly did not.
Marissa Tashenberg
I agree with Kali and Eric, McHenry’s outburst is a severe ethical issue in the society not only in sport. From my previous comment on Ben’s blog, I think McHenry is the face of ESPN, every word from her mouth should be watched out no matter camera turns on or off. In addition, McHenry is educated; it is hard to imagine why she spoke to a person like that. All of her words make me feel disgusting, I think ESPN should have punished her harsher.
ReplyDeleteI also strongly agree with Kali’s opinion on “ethics needs to be maintained in daily life”. In my perspective, people will play different roles in different situations in the society, we need to perform professional in a working position; we need to care about each other when we are play roles in family members. Our roles could be changed, but we need to hold our personal Code of Ethics under any circumstance. It is important for a person to develop his or her own personal conduct, because the conduct could provide guideline for a person to figure out what should be done or vice versa, although sometimes ethical dilemmas are hard to be defined as good or bad. Furthermore, maintaining ethics in daily life could be reflected from any behavior; one “thanks”, one “you are welcome” could also be considered as ethical performance in my opinion.
Veeco Zheng