AJC > Sports > Blog > Archives > 2008 > July > 16
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Should Nebraska fan get hammered for internet hoax?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Yesterday The Daily Oklahoman newspaper and one of its sportswriters filed a 10-count civil lawsuit against James W. Conradt. And for one of the few times in our history, university athletics programs around this country are pulling for a newspaper to win one in court.
In case you hadn’t heard, Mr. Conradt, a 36-year-old Nebraska fan who happens to work in IT at the University of Texas, decided to strike back at some Oklahoma fans who were saying unflattering things on a Nebraska message board. His response to this unforgivable outrage was to write a bogus story that two Oklahoma football players — Sam Bradford and Landry Jones — had been busted for cocaine distribution.
To make the hoax look real, he allegedly lifted the template from The Daily Oklahoman website AND used the byline of Jake Trotter, a writer for that newspaper. Conradt then allegedly put a link the work of fiction on his personal website and on a message board.
Needless to say it wasn’t long before all hell broke loose and Mr. Conradt was forced to take the story down and apologize to the entire world. “I didn’t want to hurt anyone,” he would later say. Apparently accusing someone else’s child of cocaine distribution is what passes for humor in Mr. Conradt’s world.
I’ve read comments on this story that go something like: “Well, yeah. What the guy did was dumb. But hey, it was a joke. Let him apologize and let’s move on.”
If you’re in that camp, then you don’t realize what has really happened here and what is about to happen.
Now understand this. I work for a newspaper so I’m a Free Speech, First Amendment guy. I have no problem with people expressing their opinions. It may be rough and it may be cruel and it may even be uninformed, but you have to live with it in a free society.
But to publish something that is knowingly false — to accuse someone of a crime for your own amusement — crosses a line. To violate copyright laws, trademark laws, and put some one else’s name on your bogus story crosses a line. In Mr. Conradt’s case it was a pretty clear legal line and he’s about to pay a very dear price for it.
Here’s why this case is important. Because of the freedom of the Internet, some people are lulled into believing there are no rules and no accountability. Some people believe there is one set of rules for sports fans and one set of for everybody else. This case will prove that is not true and that is why I expect the Daily Oklahoman and their lawyers to make an example of this guy.
Trust me when I tell you that there are a lot of college athletics departments who have a tough enough time dealing with the TRUE stuff that is posted on the Internet. But they also spend a lot of time having to shoot down and disprove things that are not true that are written by people who view hurting others as a form of sport.
These schools won’t say so publicly, but they are hoping that Mr. James W. Conradt gets hammered in the court of law and the court of public opinion.
Am I wrong about this? Is this just not that big a deal? Should this guy get a slap on the wrist? Hasn’t the public humiliation been enough punishment?
I’ll open the floor for you.
