Ibanez Post Re-Ignites Debate On Sports Bloggers, Responsibility

Ibanez Says He Will Come After People Who Defame Or Slander Him

SIGN OF THE TIMES: The Inquirer's Gonzalez: "Anybody with a computer, anybody with a blog or a Twitter feed is now part of the media. We are all in the same boat and while I think that [Morris] tried to couch what he was saying and dispel the idea that Ibanez might be taking steroids, ultimately his conclusion was that he could be and as soon as that happened, 'Boom,' it blew up and there was no avoiding it." Gonzalez added, "People who think that bloggers are irrelevant and they're just living in their parents' basement are really painfully out of touch. Everybody links to everybody's stuff now. Everybody is paying attention to what everybody else writes. That's why we have to be careful about what we're saying and how we say it" ("Outside The Lines," ESPN, 6/10). Morris said, "The reason I set out to write it was genuine. It was actually in Raul Ibanez's corner. … I don't think that he is in steroids, but I do think speculating and questioning it is warranted" ("On the DL with Dan Levy," 6/11).

BLOGGERS' TAKE: The SPORTING BLOG's Chris Littmann writes, "If anything, bloggers should take Morris' experience to heart. People are watching you now more than ever, and that's a good thing" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 6/11). WE SHOULD BE GM'S wrote, "Ibanez is wrong to call the blogger or his post 'pathetic and disgusting' and even more inaccurate to suggest 'accountability for people who put that out there.' This blogger did not accuse Ibanez of taking steroids. He merely commented on the suspicious tendencies of fans around the country who have seen the effects of PED's on baseball" (PABASEBALL.BLOGSPOT.com, 6/10).

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