This photo of two Louisville Cardinal basketball players celebrating during a Jan. 6 win over archrival Kentucky has caused a stir for the paper that published it.
The photo by Sam Upshaw Jr. showed Jerry Smith hugging Juan Palacios after a big play in the first half. Many readers thought the two players were kissing, but the sports editor and other editors saw nothing but celebration. At first glance it does look like a kiss but a closer looks shows that might be a visual distortion (We are running a smaller version of the photo; to see the full version go here).
Readers let the Courier-Journal have it. Wrote Louisville Courier-Journal readers’ rep Pam Platt:
Some of the comments registered by angry, offended and/or baffled readers: “Awful,” “an embarrassment,” “horrible decision,” “poor judgment,” “distasteful,” “a mystery” and “shame on you.”
I have to admit I was a little baffled by the response. Aren’t sports the province of the ubiquitous fanny pat? Aren’t players in each other’s faces all the time during athletic matches? Yes and yes. So what’s a little game-time hug in that universe?
Well, apparently this photo crossed a line for some readers, some of whom demanded an apology and/or an explanation.
Platt did not apologize and used her column to explain the editorial decision that went into selecting the picture. She wrote about “people bringing their own ideas and baggage to what they see and read.” She thought the photo, though, was confusing — “I was just puzzled by it — and its lack of context — and I think it distracted from the news it was supposed to convey.”
Fair enough, but one line in her column bothered me: Sports editor Harry “Bryan made the selection, but he said four other editors looked at the photo and no one raised any red flags.”
Red flags? This makes it sounds like had the photo conclusively showed them kissing this would have been problematic. Why? It would have been a natural moment in full view of 20,000 fans and we have seen jocks kiss before. What is so wrong about that? Then again, it is Kentucky.
A side note: I have worked for newspapers and know how much readers can read into a photo chosen innocuously. During the 1984 campaign I was a young news editor at the Centre Daily Times in State College, Pa., and we ran separate shots from a debate between Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale. We were flooded with calls the next day from Reagan supporters accusing us of air-brushing a squirrel on Reagan’s neck (I am not making this up). Reagan was pretty wrinkly by then and if you stared at his neck in the photo it could look like there was a small rodent residing there. Typical liberal media bias, these irate readers yelled at us. –Jim Buzinski
Hat trip for this item to Deadspin via MediaNews.
on Jan 16th, 2008 at 2:32 AM
The guy on the right is pretty clearly not standing directly in front of the other guy, and he’s yelling in the direction of the other guy’s left ear. I suggest eye exams for that paper’s readers.
on Jan 16th, 2008 at 5:19 AM
Bald-faced lies as excuses to start a war… completely kosher, no problemo, pass GO and collect $300 billion. But two men kissing?!?!?!? Why, that would bring on the apocalypse!!!!
Sheesh, no wonder the rest of the world thinks this country is frickin’ crazy.
on Jan 17th, 2008 at 11:28 PM
this pic begs a question that no one has yet to ask: are the basketball players gay? That type of celebration looks a bit suspect to me.
on Jan 19th, 2008 at 4:40 AM
I can only wish they were in a fierce lip-lock, with tongues jockeying for position, while their sweaty and muscular bodies repeatedly and passionately pressed against each other.
Is it hot in here or what??
They want to make an issue over a non issue?? Give em something to really talk about.
on Jan 19th, 2008 at 8:03 PM
Jim, this whole thing is just crazy. I am always amazed by how silly people can be over something so innocuous. But, what I really want to see is the picture of Reagan with a rodent on his neck.
on Jan 20th, 2008 at 5:37 PM
when they’re naked together, give me a ring
otherwise, this is a non-issue
on Jan 21st, 2008 at 12:17 PM
I amazed at how people can read something into something that isn’t there. First of off – what kiss? If there is one being offered it isn’t be returned, poor guy – but to me it just looks like the shorter guy is saying something – not that if they were kissing there’d be anything wrong with that, yummmmmm. It’s like those idiots who saw an erection in the Little Mermaid when it was a knee moving.
on Jan 22nd, 2008 at 3:36 AM
IT LOOKS LIKE DATE RAPE TO ME. I THINK HE FORGOT WHERE HE WAS AT. I WOULD LIKE TO BASKETALL, NOT TONSLE HOCKEY.
on Jan 24th, 2008 at 12:21 PM
is that player sexually aroused? No wonder they wear those baggy shorts….By the way, the same people who saw the kiss also saw a face in the NASA Mars picture.
on Feb 18th, 2008 at 2:37 PM
Come on guys. We sometimes have to make allowances for those straight people who automaticallysaw a deep hot fiery homosexual relationship between two players celebrating. We must keep in mind–staight people are a little nuts.
on Feb 29th, 2008 at 7:37 PM
this is soooooooooooo gross.!
it makes me wanna puk!