Talk About A ‘Hat Trick!’
As a sports reporter, you can say, when interviewing a team, there’s an unwritten rule, “THOU SHALT NOT WEAR A RIVAL TEAMS APPAREL!” In all my years I have never heard of such a ridiculous term, but according to the supporters of the University of Arkansas, if you are caught wearing a rival teams gear, your are to be stoned or burned at the stake! REALLY?! FOR REAL?!
As for The Hog Sports radio personality Renee Gork was what you can call a “Sacrificial Lamb” in the world of sports journalism. Renee Gork was terminated from her recent position because she wore a Florida Gators hat to the press conference for the Razorbacks.
Even listening to the interview with Coach Bobby Petrino, Petrino was very condescending answering Gork’s questions.
But when word got back to her boss, he immediately terminated her. Now is that wrongful termination or what!
Now having been an athlete at the college and professional level, I can somewhat understand the feeling one may have for their rivals, but you have to look beyond that and remain professional! Having been a coach in the professional level, I had to endure interviews with a local reporter wearing someone else’s gear. Should I have been rude and obnoxious to the reporter?
Now on the flip side of the coin, as a sports reporter, you have to remain cognoscente of your surroundings. If you are in a area that has die hard love for a team, you should respect that. A good example is for all those Raider fans! When you’re in Oakland, behind the goal post in the “Black Hole,” you’re not allowed to wear anything other than Raiders gear. Sort of an unwritten rule! There was one incident where a San Diego Chargers fan was stabbed, extreme yes, but there are those who, believe it or not, are willing to kill for their team.
Does it make things right? NO! A person should be able to wear whatever they want regardless of their affiliation or team name, color, ect…..
Gork made a minor mistake in wearing the Florida hat, it should not be grounds for her dismissal! With the job market the way it is, it seems like there was a hidden agenda to terminate the reporter. This is just entirely to small of an issue to take someone’s livelihood away. They couldn’t even give her a warning, instead like an notorious personality (Donald Trump) simply “YOU’RE FIRED!”
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