Since SB Nation pulled a controversial longform article about convicted serial rapist Daniel Holtzclaw from its site last week (Feb. 17), and subsequently put its longform program on hiatus, we’ve heard from the company’s editorial director Spencer Hall and vice president Kevin Lockland regarding the decision.
But to this point, we hadn’t heard from the writer of the piece, freelancer Jeff Arnold, other than SB Nation announcing that it would no longer be working with him again. On Monday, Arnold issued a statement through Twitter, apologizing for only presenting Holtzclaw’s side of the story and a largely sympathetic view while failing to acknowledge the trauma suffered by his victims. Here is an excerpt from Arnold’s statement:
“Throughout an arduous reporting and editing process, my editor and I were mindful that we could never lose sight of those victims or the horrific treatment each of them experienced. But we also felt there was an untold story to be told, which led us to focus on Mr. Holtzclaw, starting with his past as a football player at Eastern Michigan and his pursuit to play in the NFL.
“In writing this piece – which was reviewed and signed off on by at least four editors prior to its publication – I hoped to present a more fully-rounded portrait of Mr. Holtzclaw than had appeared in the press. I hoped to explore the question of what had happened to this once-promising young man. I and my editor at SB Nation hoped to find possible answers as to what could have led to him to become a convicted rapist and sexual predator. In the end, though, I produced a piece that had massive shortcomings.
“By not spending more time reaching out to victims or their families as a way of accounting for the horrific abuse they suffered, I made a grave mistake. I accept responsibility for that.”
Arnold went on to say that the attacks regarding his character and journalistic integrity leveled at him online and through social media were unfair and without basis, but accepts responsibility for his work, the mistakes that this particular piece included and any harm that may have resulted.
https://twitter.com/AmyAlex63/status/701787067488063488
One sentence to highlight and bold from Arnold’s statement is that four editors reviewed and signed off on the Holtzclaw feature before it was published. That would certainly seem to indicate the “complete breakdown” of the editorial process that Hall cited in the statement issued when the article was pulled. The need to review each stage of that process and investigating how the piece was given the go-ahead by each editor arguably adds some clarity to deciding to put SBN’s longform program on hiatus. This requires more than calling someone into an office and demanding to know how a screw-up happened.
Some on social media are asking if Arnold plans to revisit this piece and present the side of Holtzclaw’s victims. That seems highly doubtful, given the consequences of the feature being published. The presumption is that Arnold would like to get away from this and attempt to move on as soon as possible. He certainly wouldn’t write such a follow-up for SB Nation, since the company has cut ties with him.
Comments are closed.