Last week the feel good story of Olympian Oscar Pistorius took the darkest of turns in South Africa. The amputee who ran using blades for legs in the 2012 London games, is now being investigated for the murder of his girlfriend in a story that has captivated the public as well as the media. Pistorius' has went from worldwide symbol of the Olympic spirit to the symbol of why athletes shouldn't be role models overnight and the evidence surrounding against him is a very bad look for the South African.
Everyone seems to have an opinion on this issue as with all high profile murder charges, but the tabloid style coverage of this trial from reputable news and sports sources will never sit right with me as in any case like this. If Pistorius' story holds up that he was shooting at an attempted burglar when he claimed the life of his girlfriend through a bathroom door, than we as journalists are making a terrible error. No sensitivity has been given to the families of the victims, the young, beautiful and lively young woman who has been taken away from them has been almost completely forgotten in this story and demoted to a minor detail. Stories of the relationship between Pistorius and his fiancee leak every day, often from only one source and with very little fact checking all in the name of a ratings boost and maybe a few more sold newspapers in the morning with this grizzly headline as the lead in? But is that really right?
Yes, the public wants to know the facts and to follow along the story. Pistorius was released on bail this weekend and the public court trail in South Africa is sure to draw correspondents of every major news center in the world, but does there need to be a new friend/distant cousin dropping a juicy revelation about the relationship of two people who ended their relationship in a potential homicide? Acting like the National Enquirer is not doing your job and you can't really make a stance on if Pistorius murdered his wife or not on record because no one knows, so what is the point on commentary on this issue other than it is extremely sad and a massive shock.
This whole situation reminds me of the OJ Simpson trial, where CNN made its first stamp on journalism and North American coverage with its extensive reporting of every minute detail of the trial which ended up with a not guilty verdict for Simpson. To this day no one knows if he actually murdered his ex wife, and in this case Pistorius will be in the same boat. Even if he is found not guilty in the court of public opinion and the media, he has done it. His wife is dead and his house was riddled with bullets and a bloody cricket bat, it was too easy for the media to take those facts and run with the spin that he did it and start the storm of outcry and opinion. It was a slam dunk.
But his day in court will come, and that is the time to be reporting on this, not when the South African police are doing their best to find the evidence to put together a prosecution case to find justice. They don't need to be doing four hours of pressers a day, and there doesn't need to be a Pistorius Watch on the hour every hour.
Let this be put on the record this is the last time I provide an opinion on Pistorius in this column until his court case starts. Someone has to draw the line somewhere.
