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SALT LAKE CITY — Rarely before has the Utah sports market seemed as foolish and backwater as it did last Saturday night.
For that, we can thank the local Major League Soccer team Real Salt Lake. Some of the good folks over there made the irrational decision to deny a credential to Gordon Monson, the long-time sports columnist for one of the state’s leading newspapers, The Salt Lake Tribune.
Fortunately, likely at the request of MLS leadership, the team reversed course four days later and issued Monson a credential. But by then, the damage was already done.
On so many levels, RSL made a serious blunder and should be embarrassed. At the basic core, no sports organization should dictate which members of a legitimate news entity can report or opine on its events. In doing so, this is akin to a media outlet making roster decisions for the teams in which they cover.
Apparently, Monson wrote a column last November that offended the soccer team officials. The piece asked if owner Dell Loy Hansen, given the significant turnover in the organization, was running the team into the ground.
In the 24-hour news cycle under the current climate, readers and fans of the team have long since moved on from a column written eight months ago. But now RSL officials breathed new life into the article by dredging up the past. Here’s a word of advice to all sports programs: Take any criticism in stride and it will usually die in a short time span.
In defending the decision, RSL issued a press release that resulted in only increasing the absurdity of the situation. Discrepancy and hypocrisy were littered throughout the statement.
Andy Carroll, the team’s chief business officer, wrote: “This issue arises due to the conflicts of interest and personal agendas of one columnist — one who not only draws a paycheck from a competing professional team in the marketplace, but also hosts a daily radio show with a close relative of the former owner. (Monson’s partner, Spencer Checketts, is the son of former RSL owner Dave Checketts).”
Related:
MLS reinstates columnist's credentials after RSL pulls it
Real Salt Lake says Major League Soccer has reinstated the credentials of Salt Lake Tribune columnist Gordon Monson after the organization pulled it last week.The reference here is Monson does a radio show on a station owned by the Jazz, the alleged competing team in the marketplace. The irony is Monson works for the station that also employs RSL television broadcaster David James (my partner on the morning show. I also worked 14 years for the Tribune).
If working for the Jazz is unacceptable for one, it is unacceptable for all. More importantly, the underlying message is it is fine to work for the Jazz as long as you don’t criticize RSL.
Using RSL’s logic, the University of Utah football program should deny credentials to Tribune columnist Kurt Kragthorpe, whose father has a long working history with Utah State and Brigham Young.
Carroll also wrote Monson “remains fully able to provide his perspective and opinion without a seat in our press box or the access to our players, coaches and executives, as he clearly needs no semblance of reportage or journalistic integrity upon which to arrive at and share his view.”
Monson has worked in journalism for 37 years and won a litany of awards for his work. RSL, which Hansen bought in 2013 after spending three years as a minority owner, has been in existence for 12 years.
“It is our sole prerogative to issue media credentials, and the privileges, hospitality and access associated with that accreditation, to journalists who are professional, fair, objective and unbiased,” Carroll wrote.
Yeah, in other words, you are welcome as long as our feelings don’t get hurt.
Actually, the issue does not center on one writer. It’s the attempt to control the message by taking such drastic action. From now on, media members would be right to wonder if a reported negative story would lead to their credential being pulled or get access limited.
RSL fans, as well as those of any other allegiances, deserve to hear all points of view from accredited media outlets. Paying customers don’t want power to go unchecked or not have management be held accountable.
As word got out of RSL's decision, several stunned national media outlets reached out to Monson to see if the story was true. In the end, RSL embarrassed the state of Utah and all of us.
