Out of Context

I was driving home the other day and I heard someone on ESPNRadio read the comments Pittsburgh Steeler linebacker Joey Porter made about going to see the president. I sat there in my car cringing at every word read from Porter. . .

“Yeah, I got something to say to Bush, I’m going to have a swagger when I walk in there, too," Porter said, laughing loudly. "I’m looking forward to it. I have something to tell him, too. I don’t like the way things are running right now. I feel like he has to give me some of my money back, so I got something to tell Bush."

Ok this is bad I am thinking as the ESPN host is roasting Joey Porter mocking his use of the English language, his lack of respect for the office of the president, and his generally cocky attitude. I am thinking this is what we get. You win a Super Bowl and stuff like this is publicized, man what was he thinking? What a dumbass.

Well I had read today that Porter backed off his comments and said he was kidding, and I thought, “PR move by the Steelers.” Seems like they are catching hell and need to say something so the normal “my comments were taken out of context,” is applied.

Then tonight on Fox Sports I actually hear and see Joey Porter say the comments he made to the press initially and I have to say most of the media in the US owes Joey Porter an apology.

Yea he made those comments, but it wasn’t in the normal locker room trash talk style we are accustomed to hearing from Porter. It was him talking with local reporters, most of them the beat writers for the Steelers and he was JOKING AROUND. It was clear from the video that Porter was in no way being serious. He wasn’t pointing his finger at the camera and doing his best Hulk Hogan. He was laughing and joking like you do with friends. Like I would have done and most of us would have done with our buddies and if we had plans to meet the president.

Somewhere the tone, the feel, the ambiance of the situation was lost and people just pulled the quote and read it. Was he disrespectful to the office of the President? Yea sure, but not nearly as much as he was made out to be by the media and the ESPN personality who didn’t do his homework to find out what Joey was really saying.

I guess that is where the disappointment lies, with the media and how they took something so small and insignificant and turned it into a matter of national security. My questions is how many other times have I been duped into believing what a broadcaster on ESPN is saying when he or she hasn’t done the research themselves to find out what truly was said?