Lolo Jones New York Times Story 'Too Harsh' Editor Admits After Complaints
The New York Times' public editor Arthur Brisbane admitted Thursday that the paper's Lolo Jones article was "too harsh."
Brisbane said the Times received several complaints about the August 5 article titled "For Lolo Jones, Everything is Image" in which sports' reporter Jere Longman argued that the Olympic hurdler received greater publicity based on her "exotic beauty" than on her athletic performance.
"In this particular case, I think the writer was particularly harsh, even unnecessarily so," Brisbane wrote Thursday.
"I queried the sports editor about it," Brisbane continued. "And his response was that 'One person's harsh is another person's tough minded,' and that the writer, 'while acknowledging Jones's accomplishment and qualities of perseverance and candor, thinks this female athlete fell short."
Longman alleged that "Jones has received far greater publicity than any other American track and field athlete competing in the London Games. This was based not on achievement but on her exotic beauty and on a sad and cynical marketing campaign."
He compared Jones to former tennis player Anna Kournikova who was known for her beauty more than her skill and claimed Jones has played into the notion that "women are worthy as athletes only if they have sex appeal."
The journalist also criticized Jones' nude cover for ESPN, that she has been outspoken about her Christian faith, virginity and childhood poverty, condemning them as publicity stunts.
"Esentially, Jones has decided she will be whatever anyone wants her to be ---vixen, virgin, victim --- to draw attention to herself and the many products she endorses," he wrote.
On Wednesday, Jones burst into tears when she addressed the article on NBC's "Today" show.
"I think it was crazy just because it was two days before I competed, and then the fact that it was from U.S. media," Jones said. "They should be supporting our U.S. Olympic athletes and instead they just ripped me to shreds. I just thought that that was crazy because I worked six days a week, every day, for four years for a 12-second race and the fact that they just tore me apart, which is heartbreaking."
Other media outlets thought the Times' article was inappropriate. A reporter for Slate called it "one of the nastiest profiles" of an athlete she has ever seen and a blogger on Reuters called the journalist "sexist."
Jones finished in fourth place in the 100m hurdles at the London Olympics 2012.
