Jim Rome just talked about the phone records and called the perpetrators sick and twisted. Had Manti's back.
Then the local news came on and all they said was 'Manti Teo admitted to lying about his fake girlfriend.'
**** this. As Grahambo said, I've never seen so much evidence accumulated to prove someone innocent. People are just bound and determined to hate someone.
The major problem is that this has turned into a mainstream story and most, if not all of the new information that comes out is covered by the sports media which they never watch or listen to.
ESPN who, as you noted, has actually accumulated mounds of data pointing to Manti's innocence, and put out a pretty common Narrative amongst their staff that Manti is innocent...so did these network and cable news people "miss" it. Uhm..NO!
Networks and cable news have literally entire staffs assigned to verify this stuff, so they didn't "miss it". They've decided to knowingly go forward with bad information.
They care about crafting a story that supports ratings, and if possible supports a Narrative consistant with their political lean;
I'm too stupid to see a pure political narrative here which would motivate the ongoing defamation...but I do see the ratings benefit having this thing unresolved.
I know Manti benefits from moving on, but would laugh my a$$ off if he started dragging everyone to court, because in my view many in the network and cable "news" world have intentionally engaged in conduct they knew would likely harm Manti...and they can't even use the truth defense.
I think the 1st amendment is protected quite well, in that the government really stays out of matters of the press and expression etc. But I think understanding of it has morphed into some Harry-Reid-on-the-Senate-floor type universal immunity for the press...not ever the intent. It was expected they'd be tempered by the fact that after they write their crap, they'd have to come stand among all of us, and face the music. Not the reality anymore, and seeking a civil court solution is, quite honestly, not realy an option for most people. Because the network and cable news folks have, in effect, lowered their standards to a common blogger, and have done so largely w/ impunity; the common man having no functional recourse...I see a point in time where individuals in the press will face physical retribution much more frequently...not sure I'll be too upset.
