NBA Champions 

It is Time to Give Rasheed and Rip Respect

As a political communication student, I often am engaged in debates over whether or not there is a liberal bias in the media. Conservatives constantly cry that the media does not cover their issues fairly, while liberals fight back saying that the media is more balanced than believed.

Right now I am in the midst of reading Ari Fleischer's book Taking Heat. Throughout the book he claims that the media has covered conservative initiatives and especially President Bush unfairly. He believes there are many examples of the difference in coverage when President Clinton was in office from stories about President Bush. One example he uses is media coverage of demonstrations. He sites that when the media covers environmental or fair trade rallies they label them as "protestors" or "demonstrators" and do not mention the word liberal. When the media covers protests on conservative issues they are always labeled as "conservative demonstrators" or "conservative protestors."

Now I have heard both arguments so many times throughout my education that I am not sure which is true, but I now have confirmed there is a bias within the sports media. Last year when my Detroit Pistons won the National Championship against the favored Los Angeles Lakers the press treated it as an anomaly. They were not given the credit they deserved for being the better team that took down Shaq and Kobe. We were the underdogs but the press still loved the superstars.

Even after the championship I was in a Nike Town and I could not find one Pistons jersey to buy. But there were plenty of Lakers jerseys from members of the losing team of superstars!

Now the pistons are in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat. The series is tied, yes TIED 2-2. Last night I watched as the Pistons trampled Shaq, Wade, and the rest of the Heat all stars and after the game all the press could do was give ridiculous reasons why the Heat must have lost: "Shaq was too tired," or "Wade couldn't get his mind in the game." Maybe the reason we won was because we played better? Maybe our defensive and offensive strategies were brilliant? Or maybe my Pistons are just as good if not better than the other team. Could the press ever cover that???

When the press covers Detroit they still think of it as a run-down area with riots and poverty. When something good happens like an NBA or an NHL championship it is a fluke, but when a fight breaks out during a basketball game it is just Detroiters being Detroiters according to the media.

So there is a bias in the media. There will always be favorable coverage of superstars and a bias against the underdogs. So Rasheed Wallace, Ben Wallace, Rip Hamilton, Chauncey Billups, Tayshaun Prince, Lindsey Hunter and the rest of the Detroit Pistons I salute you! Congrats on your win last night and keep fighting for the underdog city of Detroit!