Tweet first, ask questions later
After showing the world how the decision to “embrace technology” is advancing the participation and appreciation of golf worldwide last week, the Augusta National caught an errant drive to the back of the head, via Twitter, of all things.
After a low-level, tournament week security guard (a female security guard, no less) mistakenly denied locker room access to <<it>>Bergen Record<<it>> [New Jersey] sports columnist Tara Sullivan Sunday night, she takes to her Twitter account and broadslaps (as opposed to broadcasts) the following:
“Bad enough no women members at Augusta. But not allowing me to join writers in locker room interview is just wrong.”
Sullivan explained in a follow-up column (hours after the Tweet) thusly:
“We walked into the clubhouse and followed as McIlroy made his way to the locker room. At the final portion of the hallway, the one that ended at the locker room door, I was told by a female security officer that I was not allowed in.
That was it.
“Rather than disrupt the deadline efforts of my working colleagues, I stopped there. I looked around for any official Masters representative, but didn’t see anyone. I asked the security woman again why they had such a policy, and she told me it was because there was an open bathroom area in the locker room. My response was, “yes, just like all of the pro locker rooms I routinely go into.”
“She apologized for the rule, saying it was not her policy, while insisting that the male security guard at the next doorway would bar me also.”
What followed was a mini-meltdown in the tabloids and on the web, and about a gazillion inaccurate posts from all over the world complaining about Augusta National policy on everything from golf equipment to pimento cheese.
I am told the McIlroy locker room exchange lasted just a few minutes, which means whatever kind of “search for relief” from a tournament official Sullivan undertook must also have been quite brief. Rather than personally seek out Media Director Steve Ethun, a man whose cell phone number is in every Masters media guide and at the bottom of every single email he sends to credentialed media, Sullivan decides to misrepresent tournament policy to the world, via Twitter.
There are some people who are hard to find on Sunday night of Masters week; Steve Ethun is not one of those people.
The man answers his phone whenever it rings, 24 hours a day.
I know that because I have called it.
But Ethun did in fact speak with the columnist about the mistake, as she later explained in the same piece:
“Shortly after, I tweeted what had happened. I also approached the media desk for an official reaction. An apology was translated to me shortly after, and before long, Ethun met with me personally.
“‘I apologize,’ he said. ‘It was a complete misunderstanding by tournament week security and you should have rightfully been given access per the standard practices of major sporting events.’”
I am not going to suggest Sullivan has an agenda. I am not going to make the accusation that she was using the security guard’s mistake to make herself the sideshow story of the day for Sportscenter. I am not going to bring up the point that using the episode to beat the dead horse that is the debate over gender exclusive organizations would be silly. I am not even going to call the woman an “ingrate” for accepting the incredible service and hospitality shown to all members of the media (stars and working stiffs alike) at the Masters, and then pitching a fit when something didn’t go just right.
However, I am going to say something much worse.
Sunday night, Tara Sullivan was a sloppy journalist. She allowed her emotions to cloud her journalistic integrity because she didn’t ask questions of the right people, she made erroneous assumptions and she published them. Those assumptions would have been cleared up in a microsecond had she just taken the time to do her damn job.You Might Also Like:
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