The Power of You

Need to have a little chat here, guys.

Had a big problem yesterday, one that can't and won't happen again.

As the debris started to fall yesterday, UCLA suspending "three" starters, then "six" starters, then, ultimately two, some posters decided to come on the comments section and "name names."

Problem is, it was a joke.

Not a funny joke.

Because I had two hours worth of extra work trying to track all of it down, and that sucks.

But even worse...

Imagine you're a kid's parent - and as much as you'd like to believe that these are grown men, they are not, trust me, I deal with the parents - and you see a joke, not even presented as rumor, but as fact, on a message board. How are you supposed to know it's a joke?

One of the guys named was Rahim Moore. Now, obviously, I was incredulous to the fact that one of the supposed "six" was Rahim Moore. I couldn't believe it. I spent I don't know how long trying to figure out if it was true.
And that's me, the reporter.

But the stupid "joke" was picked up by about every UCLA message board possible, and run as fact. A fake link that was made was supposedly "shut down." And Moore's name was smeared all over the internet.

In no other words that I can think of: That ain't cool. Just not cool at all. What if Moore's mom read that? His grandfather? Is that fair? This isn't Brett Favre, who gets paid millions of dollars, and slander comes with the territory. This is a college kid. Remember that.

Next time this happens, there will be an unequivocal ban.

Don't do it. It's not funny.