Enterprise Journalism – Best of 2011
For Outside the Lines, 2011 marked another year of strong enterprise reporting, highlighted by in-depth investigative stories including an expose on illegal gambling on youth football and a look at sexual molestation allegations against former AAU president Bobby Dodd and Syracuse assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine.
Gambling on Youth Football in South Florida
May 1, 2011
Outside the Lines investigated the South Florida Youth Football League, where gamblers bet anywhere from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars on games involving players five to 15 years old. One former player told OTL he was only nine when gamblers started to give him hundreds of dollars whenever he had a good game because they had won off of his performance. Paula Lavigne reported.
AAU Allegations -- Bobby Dodd
December 11, 2011
For nearly two decades, Bobby Dodd served as president of the AAU, one of the largest amateur sports organizations in the U.S. Now, after an Outside the Lines investigation, he is being investigated by Memphis law enforcement officials. Two men who played on Dodd's Memphis AAU basketball club in the 1980s told Outside the Lines that Dodd sexually abused them a number of times. Tom Farrey investigated.
Outside the Lines also provided reports on alleged improprieties by Ohio State University’s football program; John Barr’s exclusive interview with Chris Cicero, a lawyer whose e-mails to then-football coach Jim Tressel triggered an ongoing scandal and NCAA investigation; Tom Farrey’s interview with an acquaintance of Terrelle Pryor, who detailed a memorabilia-for-cash deal the quarterback allegedly had with Ohio businessman Dennis Talbott. Additionally, reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and T.J. Quinn provided continuous coverage of the Barry Bonds trial, including an exclusive interview with Troy Ellerman, the attorney imprisoned for leaking grand-jury testimony. OTL also broke the story of N.L. MVP Ryan Braun’s alleged use of performance enhancing drugs, and examined a variety of NFL topics, including the polarizing effect of Tim Tebow’s religious beliefs, and the filing of a workman’s comp lawsuit against the NFL by former Viking Fred McNeil, who is suffering from dementia.
Links and Resources:
E:60 Homepage; E:60 Production Notes
E:60’s fifth season was its most ambitious yet with an unprecedented eight-episode run over six weeks. ESPN’s award-winning news magazine, E:60 tells stories not seen anywhere else on TV and does so in a distinct way. Among E:60’s top investigative reports and storytelling in 2011 were:
Bahrain’s Revolution
November 8, 2011
What if a country’s biggest athlete, a legend, a hero, a player who brought the nation some of its biggest sporting moments, was at practice one day and was suddenly taken into custody by masked men? What if he was held for months, tortured, his career ended, banned from his team and for playing for his country, all because he expressed his political views? E:60 went to the Middle East for the first time to investigate how athletes were caught up in the clash of democracy, freedom, repression and politics. Jeremy Schaap reported.
The Wrestler: Scott Hall
October 19, 2011
At the height of professional wrestling in the 90’s, Scott Hall was adored by millions, his name chanted by adoring fans. Today, he has hit rock bottom. E:60 followed his descent from superstar to a broken man battling alcoholism and drug addiction, but still trying to hold on to the glory he once found in the ring.
Highlights of E:60’s 2011 also included the following pieces:
Christy Martin – October 5, 2011
Lisa Salters interviewed Christy Martin, who, for the first time on TV, talked about her relationship with her husband, the attack that nearly killed her, her battle with cocaine and her return to the boxing ring -- as an openly gay woman. Also featured was an exclusive interview with Jim Martin, who revealed his story from the Florida prison where he awaited trial.
Ravens’ Ray Rice – October 25, 2011
A profile of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, including the impact of the death of his older cousin Myshaun Rice, killed 13 years ago in a car accident, the result of a drunk driver. Rachel Nichols reported.
Bill Buckner is Back – October 25, 2011
His crucial fielding error during Game 6 of the 1986 World Series became part of the collective memory of baseball fans. Now, 25 years later, Bill Buckner was back in New England, managing the Independent League’s Brockton Rox. Schaap reported.
The Bucket List – October 11, 2011
Just one week shy of his 83rd birthday, E:60 featured a piece narrated by National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame broadcaster Keith Jackson. “Bucket List” reflected on the quarter century of the celebratory Gatorade shower, with Jackson describing its history, with highlights and comments from its coaching victims and player-perpetrators.
The ESPN Feature Unit presented the following in 2011:
The Finish Line
April 16, 2011
A dramatic finish clinched the eighth state title for San Francisco University High School girls’ cross country team’s coach, and revealed a unique bond between the team and its coach.
Never Forgotten
May 14, 2011
The tragic story of high school basketball star Wes Leonard collapsing and dying on the court after hitting the game-winning shot. ESPN spent 12 days with the Leonard family and teammates to show how they remembered and honored Leonard’s memory.
In addition to “The Finish Line” and “Never Forgotten,” the ESPN’s Feature Unit in 2011 also produced:
“The Promise,” the extraordinary story of MMA fighter Rad Martinez, who balances his fighting career with the responsibility of caring for a father with brain damage.
“The Man in the Red Bandanna,” a feature about Welles Crowther, a former college lacrosse player, who died heroically while saving lives in the South Tower of the World Trade Center on 9/11.
“Rebuilding Joplin,” documented the Joplin, Mo. high school football team which prepared for its football season after a devastating EF-5 tornado destroyed the town.
ESPN.com notable cross-platform enterprise /investigative packages included the first scientific study of prescription painkiller use by retired NFL players, and the story of one man’s never-ending quest to find balance between being dangerous and addictive vs. stable and traditional.
Painkiller Misuse Numbs NFL Pain
January 28, 2011
John Barr, in his Outside the Lines report for ESPN.com, wrote:
“Retired NFL players misuse opioid pain medications at a rate more than four times that of the general population, and new evidence suggests that is occurring because players misused the painkillers during their NFL careers, according to a study published online in Drug and Alcohol Dependence, a peer-reviewed, scientific journal.
“The study, conducted by researchers at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, is the first of painkiller use and misuse by former NFL players.”
A Man Obsessed: Charlie Wittmack Wanted to Conquer the World, Even if it Killed Him
July 14, 2011
Wayne Drehs, in his Outside the Lines report for ESPN.com, wrote:
“Charlie Wittmack never says the word ‘death,’ never utters the phrase ‘if I die,’ but here he sits in his law office, planning for the end.
“He has less than an hour to catch a flight to begin his 11-month, 13-country odyssey. He’s faxed the order for his wife’s $25,000 ring, photocopied his last will and testament, signed a 73-page legal trust and bought a $2.5 million life insurance policy that is 17 times his annual income, the maximum he could obtain. If a man is to be measured by how he cares for his family, let there be no doubt.”
In addition to these pieces, other notables of 2011 include ESPN.com cross-platform enterprise/investigative packages involving child sexual abuse allegations at Penn State, Syracuse and the AAU; MLB’s National League MVP Ryan Braun testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug; the sports world’s remembrance of Sept. 11; the poisoning of the Toomer’s Corner trees; the recovery from a deadly tornado that struck Joplin, Mo.; gambling on youth football in South Florida; the randomness of the U.S. Open tennis draw; and the 10-year anniversary of the plane crash that devastated the Oklahoma State men’s basketball program.
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