When I first saw the picture of Ed Podolak over the weekend, the first thing I thought about was Larry Eustachy. Eustachy was really the first in this "new-media" age to fall victim to his own poor decision to be in a place where he could be embarrassed by a click of a digital camera.
We all know what happened from there and the ramifications from the incidents in the winter of 2003 have impacted Eustachy as well as the rest of the media.
The line between what is OK to put in the public domain and not is now gone. Like Marc Hansen said in this morning's Des Moines Register: "In the good old days before everyone with a cell phone became a member of the paparazzi, you could get a little crazy, maybe even make a fool of yourself, without having the whole world see exactly what you did."
There have been several incidents in the past five years. Thanks to websites like Deadspin and The Big Lead, it's common to see those in the sporting world's indiscretions weekly.
From Matt Leinart beer-bonging with co-eds, to Kyle Orton after one to many Jack and Coke's and even Yao Ming with a six-glasses-of wine glow at a wedding. Just visit drunkatlete.com and you could kill an entire day with athletes after a night on the town. (Yes, someone is profiting from people's stupidity.)
Coaches (see Bo Pelini) and broadcasters aren't immune either (ESPN's Dana Jacobson and now Podolak.) I'll admit I get a chuckle almost every time I see one of these pics or stories. I, like most folks, get a kick out of people making a fool out of themselves.
But, at this point if you're a public figure you have to ask yourself, "Is this worth having a good time if I risk having my picture taken on the Internet." They should know full well by now, that's not going to change. And as technology improves, it will be even more instantaneous than it is now.
Instead of a DUI, OWI, or an MIP- we'll call it the "PDIP" -Public Drunkenness Internet Pic. And in this case it caught Ed Podolak and he apparently didn't want to fight the spotlight anymore.
As Mike Hlas in the CR Gazette writes, "Presumably under direction in this matter by Athletics Director Gary Barta, Podolak was urged to seek alcohol treatment and then be welcomed back to the Iowa football radio booth this fall for a 28th consecutive year as an analyst.Podolak took the other option, to retire from broadcasting at age 61. It truly is something he had already been considering, by the way."
Ed is by all accounts a fun-loving guy, but I doubt this is how he wanted to be remembered.
January 15, 2009 at 1:15 PM
So, as an enterprising blogger, I ask you this:
If you have somehow been provided with PDIPs, do you publish them? I know that's the big stink Hawk fans have put up. It's not 'news-worthy', supposedly, so it's not worth running. What's your call?
January 15, 2009 at 1:31 PM
That's a good question. I would have a hard time publishing photos, but somebody eventually would, so I can see where blogs/newspaper sites have their hands forced if they get something nobody else has.
But, to answer your question, no I don't think I would be the first to publish. Unless I knew the circumstances or took the photos myself.
January 15, 2009 at 2:42 PM
I would never be the first to publish photos like that unless, like Blum stated, I took them myself. Just not my style. But realize that sites like Deadspin live for stuff like this.
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