I woke up to sirens driving past my apartment Monday morning. That’s not unusual, High Street is busy. I rolled over and grabbed my phone to see the time, instead I saw the news.
An active shooter was on campus – at least that’s what the alert said. As a journalist my first thought was to reach out to my co-workers and find a police scanner online. My second was to text my friends and be sure that they were okay.
The rest of my day involved reaching out to eyewitnesses, editing photos and taking requests from other media outlets.
The football team never crossed my mind.
That apparently was not the case for ESPN. Austin Ward ran an article the day of the attack with the headline “Ohio State football players safe, accounted for after on-campus attack.”
Football is integral to Ohio State. It ties the community together. But the community is much more than the football team.
The football team may not have been injured, but other students were.
There’s a time and place for reporting. There was a time and place to discuss how football relates to this story. The comradery between Michigan and Ohio State. The way Ohio State went from the highest high to the lowest low in the matter of two days. The way that sport can help the campus heal.
That sadly wasn’t the story. But it’s okay, the football team was safe.
Skates and Scoop 