Marv Albert's return to MSG drew national reaction, and
was the subject of a discussion last night between Boston
Globe columnist Mike Barnicle and NOW NY Chapter President
Galen Sherwin on MSNBC's "The News with Brian Williams."
Barnicle: "At the end of the day, it has to be about mercy.
... Let's let this poor guy get on with his life." Sherwin:
"It basically sends a very clear message to women across the
country ... that MSG doesn't really care that they've hired
a convicted sex offender to represent them publicly."
Barnicle: "Let Marv Albert go back to work" (MSNBC, 7/15).
Sherwin called on MSG to "reconsider" its decision: "It says
the industry does not take it seriously. It's business as
usual in the sports industry" (NEWSDAY, 7/16).
GOTHAM SUPPORTS ONE OF ITS OWN: This morning's N.Y.
media generally supports MSG's decision. From the N.Y.
POST: Steve Serby writes that Albert "deserves this second
chance, mostly because we know him now not as an evil man
with a problem but as a nice man with a problem who sought
help." Wallace Matthews writes that MSG Network execs
"should be commended" (N.Y. POST, 7/16). From the N.Y.
DAILY NEWS: Mike Lupica writes, "It is a good thing the
Garden did yesterday. ... Albert has done enough time." Bob
Raissman notes that Checketts and the MSGN execs "have stuck
their collective necks out for Albert. One slip -- one
incident -- and their heads are on the chopping block." But
Sherryl Connelly writes, "What [Albert] did was wrong, and
what happened yesterday was wrong" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 7/16).
NEWSDAY's Shaun Powell called yesterday's press conference
"an exercise in public rehabilitation." Powell: "Given the
benefit of the doubt, Albert does deserve the opportunity to
resume his way of life" (NEWSDAY, 7/16).
OUTSIDE OF N.Y., A DIFFERENT STORY: In Boston, Howard
Manly: "It's no longer survival of the fittest; it's
survival of the spectacle. In this twisted view,
credibility doesn't matter anymore, just as long as the
ratings are good and advertisers pay. But credibility does
matter, and Albert has little" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/16). In
S.F., C.W. Nevius called Albert's rehiring "Appalling" and
"Disgraceful." Nevius: "If anything, the Albert affair
proves that it is now almost impossible to ruin your
reputation" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 7/16). In Philadelphia, Lynn
Zinser criticizes the move and writes that Albert "does need
a little credibility to do his job as play-by-play man, and
he has almost none" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 7/16). In
Baltimore, Milton Kent asks if "a formerly revered, then
ridiculed, sportscaster's career can be salvaged? We're
about to find out" (SUN, 7/16). In Hartford, Jeff Jacobs:
"Message to my bosses: If I plead guilty to assault charges
in a bizarre sex case that humiliates the newspaper, show
more moral courage than to hire me back within months"
(HARTFORD COURANT, 7/16). CBS SportsLine's Mike Kahn: "Fame
and skill have prevailed again" (CBS SportsLine, 7/15).
