Jason Whitlock on Sports Blogs: 'Lips Will Get Removed From Asses at Some Point' - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

It all started a week ago Tuesday. Pulitzer-prize winning author Buzz Bissinger ambushed Deadspin's Will Leitch on Costas Now; the blogosphere was predictably incensed in the minutes, hours, and days that followed; and finally, the mainstream media weighed in on the blogosphere weighing in on the whole mess.

By Internet standards, Kansas City Star columnist and FOXSports.com contributor Jason Whitlock was late to the discussion -- his column went up Thursday night, some 48 hours after the spectacle in question -- but he was the only member of the media to raise questions about Leitch, the blogger, referencing a bizarre NPR interview from earlier this year.

Leitch offered a thoughtful response to Whitlock's column on Monday, and he spoke to FanHouse about it a day later. Next up: Whitlock, naturally.

Whitlock admits to liking blogs, but understands that "bloggers are no different from writers or journalists. There are good ones and bad ones, fair and unfair ones, moderately accurate and horribly inaccurate ones. None is infallible," something lost on Bissinger until his recent mea culpa tour.

In the quick interview that follows, Whitlock looks at the present and future of the sports blogosphere.

Obviously, Bissinger had an agenda and it blew up in his face; if you were in his seat on Costas' show, what would you have said to Leitch?
I would've talked about the terrible impression he and the site create of the average sports fan. He's passing himself off as the average sports fan and I think he's a poor representation. I would've brought up the Stu Scott thing. If Leitch is the average sports fan, athletes would be wise to keep their distance. If we're moving into an era where "sports fans" are going to eavesdrop on athletes and high-profile media members and post what they see or hear on blogs, then we're going to build an even bigger wall between athletes and fans. I think we all understand what's fair game. But no one can convince me the Stu Scott thing was appropriate. No way. And no one called bulls--- because most of us think Stu Scott's rap shtick is too much. But that doesn't mean Stu shouldn't be treated like a human being.

What would you say when Leitch claims that posting pictures of Matt Leinart in a hot tub full of co-eds "humanizes" the Cardinals quarterback?
I would've chuckled. But the Leinart picture doesn't bother me. Nothing about the picture was controversial to me. I'm much older than Leinart and I bonged a couple of beers probably 3 years ago, and I'm not even a drinker.

Is it fair to be upset with blogs that ran the Leinart photos when ESPN was all over that story too?
Again, I don't see the Leinart picture as controversial. He's a young, single guy having a good time. Big deal.

I get the sense that a lot of columnists and beat reporters understand blogs, and even more, they embrace it. Matt Mosley and Joe Posnanski come to mind, and you're seemingly on good terms with the blogosphere. Is it just a handful of old-timers who feel threatened by the emergence of blogs, or is it more pervasive?
It's pretty pervasive, the fear. The newspaper industry despises anything different. And newspaper management has no clue why bloggers are successful. The fear is pervasive and sad. Bloggers are a good thing. They're a great watchdog for the mainstream media.

[Author note: Whitlock had more thoughts on the issue in last week's column: "Bloggers might be inspired by their loathing of traditional media, but they are not the cause of our growing irrelevance. We did that with our refusal to adapt to new technology, our clutching of political correctness and the transparency of our agenda-driven 'objective journalism.' We opened the door. And it won't be closed with bluster and anger. I wish that had been examined more thoroughly on 'Costas Now.' The sparring between Leitch and Bissinger I'm sure made for terrific television, but it took us nowhere."]

In your column, you wrote that Leitch "spends an inordinate amount of time telling prominent, successful, well-spoken African-Americans that they're not really black." In general how do you think race is dealt with in the blogosphere?
Blogs deal with race as well as the rest of society. Some blogs do a great job. The sports blogosphere pretty much ignores race other than cracking jokes.

Do you have any thoughts on why blogs are less critical of other blogs?
Blogs are suffering from the same problem as the MSM. We think if we ignore our shortcomings, no one will notice them. Some smart blogger will fill the void and begin the process of holding blogs accountable. There's an audience for that. There is a good-old-boys network among bloggers that will eventually get shaken up. Lips will get removed from asses at some point. This is America. There's always someone available to call bulls---.

[End of interview]

The patriotic Mr. Whitlock is right, I think. These things always have a way of working themselves out. I don't expect some seismic shift to determine the future of sports blogs, but small tweaks along the way making everybody more accountable seem not only reasonable, but in the blogosphere's best interest.