A week ago, New Orleans Saints tight end Benjamin Watson put up a Facebook post reacting to events in Ferguson, Missouri. It has generated an astonishing 825,000 likes and 458,000 shares as of 1 PM ET today.
As will be seen later, CNN's print report on Watson's post by Steve Almasy treated the player's references to sin, Jesus Christ, and the Gospel as if they were potentially toxic. Additionally, the accompanying CNN video at Almasy's writeup doesn't show how the conversation between Watson and the network's Brooke Baldwin really ended, i.e., very abruptly.
Obviously, the key question in the segment which follows is whether CNN's sudden cutoff of Watson was accidental or deliberate (HT PJ Tatler):
Transcript (bolds are mine throughout this post):
(not seen in video above; present here, but difficult to hear)
WATSON: It’s not the skin, the issue is sin. And I firmly believe that the issue is that internally, we are flawed. Internally, we need salvation from our sin. Internally, our sin makes us prideful. It makes us judgemental. It makes us prejudiced, which leads to racism. It makes us lash out at people that don’t look like us. It makes us look past evidence to protect people that look like us. It makes us do all those things. It makes us lash out in anger. It makes us point fingers.
BALDWIN: All right.
(contained in video above)
WATSON: The only salvation for this sin is the gospel. The only way to really cure what’s on the inside is understanding that Jesus Christ died for our sins. And so for me, on a micro-level, it’s under –”
BALDWIN: Got it.
(Watson’s side of the split-screen is replaced by a green screen with wavy lines.)
BALDWIN: Whoop -- just like that, we lost him.
Those who want to argue that the cutoff was not deliberate or content-related will note that Watson's screen went out exactly when the studio clock went to 3:00 PM, which may indicate that the feed may have been pre-programmed to end at that point.
Those who would argue that CNN got tired of Watson's proselytizing and chose to arbitrarily cut him off can certainly point to Brooke Baldwin's nonchalant and borderline dismissive reaction to losing touch with him.
Those who believe that the latter scenario represents what happened can certainly point to Almasy's near-hysterics over the mere mention of Jesus's name on a CNN program.
(excerpted by Almasy from the Facebook post)
-- I'M INTROSPECTIVE, because sometimes I want to take "our" side without looking at the facts in situations like these. Sometimes I feel like it's us against them. Sometimes I'm just as prejudiced as people I point fingers at. And that's not right. How can I look at white skin and make assumptions but not want assumptions made about me? That's not right.
-- I'M ENCOURAGED, because ultimately the problem is not a SKIN problem, it is a SIN problem. SIN is the reason we rebel against authority. SIN is the reason we abuse our authority. SIN is the reason we are racist, prejudiced and lie to cover for our own. SIN is the reason we riot, loot and burn. BUT I'M ENCOURAGED because God has provided a solution for sin through ... his son Jesus and with it, a transformed heart and mind. One that's capable of looking past the outward and seeing what's truly important in every human being. The cure for the Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice and Eric Garner tragedies is not education or exposure. It's the Gospel. So, finally, I'M ENCOURAGED because the Gospel gives mankind hope.
(Almasy returns to his "reporting")
While the religious nature of that final section may turn some readers off, Watson says he thinks it points to a way that people of different races can solve some of the issues they face.
"Internally our sin makes us prideful, it makes us judgmental, it makes us prejudice, which leads to racism, it makes us lash out at people that don't look like us. It makes us do all those things. It makes us lash out in anger and makes us point fingers," he told CNN.
He finds the answers in the Gospels of the Bible.
Seriously, Steve, you needed to let us know that "some readers" are turned off by any references to Christianity, as if we didn't know that already?
CNN's handling of its Watson interview was horribly clumsy at best, and rude at worst. In either case, I would think that an apology is in order — but as far as I can tell, none has occurred.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
