Richard Justice Should Stop Blogging

[Keith]

All you need to know about Chronicle columnist Richard Justice is right here, in his exchange with Stephanie Stradley. It's pretty hard to find times when the Chronicle Sports department sinks to new lows, but here we are.

If you are interested in sportswriters riled up at bloggers, media ax-grinding, blog etiquette relating to altering blogs and blog comments, really ridiculous things about NFL coaches who yell, and/or the Texans running game, read on. ...

http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2008/08/29/h...ly-attacks-ale

Long, but well worth the read. Just be ready to get riled up over a miserable sportswriter not worth your time. Gawd our local sports section is embarrassing. I've gone from being angry to just sad at our local state of affairs.

[edo783]

Justice really is a Dick. His only semi competency lays with baseball, but other than that he is a total hack and obviously suffers from some sort of inadequacy issues.

[dadmg]

That is one of the more disturbing, and yet not at all surprising, things I've read in awhile. Just add a journalist's fear of the blogosphere with the male sportsman's fear of a woman "invading" their field and its rife with potential for disaster. Yet another reason I'm oh so very glad I never followed through on my intended journalism degree.

[Mike]

I bet his knees are sore after following VY around on the 40 acres today.

He really is a poor excuse for a "journalist."

I could do his job. Let's see, things are going good for team A, so I'll jump on the bandwagon. Things are going bad, so I'll write a piece that rips everyone. OK Today I am bored, I'll write about how VY gives me a warm tingle every time I think about him, or I'll rip someone who won't kiss my a$$.

[HPF Bob]

Gibbs probably yelled at him once and refused to go on the record. Don't think sportswriters don't hold grudges. Stephanie had the nerve to question what was so horrible about a coach yelling at his players. The she had the further nerve to provide some evidence that swatted down his claim.

So then he starts in with the personal attacks. Not surprising but not cool.

Then he replies. "This isn't about me". Wrong. It's ALL about him. It's about him because some coach told him off or refused to talk to him and so when he writes a piece needlessly ripping him and gets called out by a blogger (God forbid!), his ego can't handle it and he starts going postal.

We're wise to his act. He's the Jay Marriotti of the Southwest, too thin-skinned to have to answer for the crap he dishes out and then carries grudges when sources don't want to talk to him. Marriotti finally got his comeuppance and Justice will someday get his too.

BTW, just as background, when Gibbs was in Denver was when the offensive line refused all interview requests and suffered through fines and other retributions for a few years because of it but it also served as a bonding thing for members of the OL and most of them, I think, rather enjoyed it.

[Joshua]

Unfortunate yet predictable chronology from Justice. FWIW, Justice was on 1560 with Lance and John last week and the Gibbs article came up. He basically admitted it was based on nothing but his personal grudge against Gibbs. From the way he told it, his grudge stems completely from the episode 12 years ago when Gibbs wouldn't give him a quote for an article in support of greater benefits for assistants. The notion that the only thing that kept the owners from giving better benefits was an article from Richard Justice (complete with Gibbs' quote) is laughable.

His behavior during his feud with Steph is obviously reprehensible, but my questions start much before that. I had many of the same questions she had when I first read the article. It completely came out of left field and was contrary to all the public quotes I'd read. I too wondered if he had heard rumors or been told off-the-record comments. Apparently not. Where were his editors? When he turns in a story like that (particularly when it contains no facts), shouldn't an editor ask what's his source?

[HPF Bob]

Editors and fact-checkers: Among the first things to go when there are layoffs. And the whole industry is having layoffs because they are trying to sell a 19th Century product to a 21st Century audience.

[Mike]

I've just decided to stop reading the Chronicle or Justice in any form. No sense in getting into a "pissing match with a skunk." Instead of engaging Justice, it is easier to write an email to the sports editor telling them what a hack Justice is, and that I cancelled my subscription due to his lack of objective "journalism."

Why waste breath or keystokes on that sorry excuse for a "journalist?"

[Joshua]

Rather than just complain here, I did send an email this morning. It said -

Several weeks ago, Richard Justice penned an article regarding Alex Gibbs. To say the least, I found the article to be contrary to the conventional wisdom and was curious of its foundation. From all accounts, Gibbs was widely hailed as an excellent hire and is considered one of the greatest offensive line coaches in NFL history. In addition, I had not heard one negative comment from any Texan, offensive lineman or otherwise. Thus, Justice’s vehement questioning of Gibbs coaching aptitude and style struck me as unusual. The fact that not a single quote in support of the article appeared therein further highlighted my skepticism.

This was particularly true considering the timing of the article. We are barely in the opening act of Gibbs’ tenure with the Texans. The article was written after only 3 preseason games. By all accounts, the zone blocking scheme takes great coordination between the offensive linemen and this takes time. This is further compounded by the fact that 3 new starters were in place (including a rookie) and cut blocking isn’t allowed in practice due to injury concerns. In short, at the time the article was written, I think any objective person would agree that it was simply too early to pronounce judgment. Despite my reservations as to the veracity of the article, I was not compelled to write this letter.

Apparently, I was not alone in questioning the timing and content of the article. The article (and subsequent blog posts) generated a tremendous amount of comments. A number of the commenters simply sought greater clarification on the factual basis of this article and if Mr. Justice had received some inside information, off-the-record comments, etc. from Texan players regarding Gibbs. Although the comments and responses are too numerous to address individually, Mr. Justice generally responded to these comments with generalized, unfounded statements, personal insults and a dismissive wave of the hand of any facts presented which were contrary to his thesis. In addition, Mr. Justice revealed the true reason behind the article. He does not like Alex Gibbs. Although he alludes to it in some of the comment responses, I happened to hear him on 1560 The Game the other morning and the Gibbs article was addressed. To quickly summarize, he acknowledged a grudge with Gibbs dating back over a decade over Gibbs’ refusal to provide a quote regarding assistants’ benefits package. His long simmering anger over this appears to have been the impetus for the article and the notion that "good coaches don’t yell" was the best idea he could come up with for disparaging Gibbs (I will give him credit for honestly admitting his personal vendetta. Most reporters aren’t that willing to admit these types of things). Despite the dubious validity of the article, multiple insults to Chronicle readers, and later admitted bias, all this alone did not prompt me to write this letter.

What finally prompted me was Mr. Justice’s treatment of a particular commenter to his blog. An account of what transpired between Mr. Justice and Stephanie Stradley can be found here - http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2008/08/29/h...acks-ale/#cont.

As I’m sure you’re aware, Ms. Stradley used to blog for the Chronicle and now blogs for fanhouse.com. She has been diligently and intelligently posting Texan-related material for years and any cursory review of her postings show a fair and collegial blogger whose sole goal is to provide as much Texan insight as possible with little to no bias or personal attacks. As there is no need to completely regurgitate the chronology contained in the above link, a quick summary is that Mr. Justice responded to her valid questions (the very questions that I and many others had) with nothing more than personal insults and generalized claims (although he has since deleted some of these comments and responses). These insults became quite personal and continued in other comments and apparently on the radio. Needless to say, I find his behavior highly inappropriate and a curious way to respond to a Chronicle subscriber.

In all, it appears as though Mr. Justice penned an article which had no basis in fact. Despite being repeatedly pressed for his source of any disenchantment among players with Gibbs, he provided none. Instead, the article was a thinly disguised attempt to get back at an individual who he believes brushed him off over a decade ago. This dubious reporting is further compounded by his treatment of your readers and, in particular, his awful treatment of Ms. Stradley. The Chronicle, and its readers, deserve better on all fronts. I don’t believe it is too much to ask that an article be based in fact and legitimate questions regarding its validity be addressing forthrightly and without insult.

As an aside, I used to be a Chronicle subscriber, but no longer am so. One of the primary reasons for this is the lack of in-depth analysis from the sports desk. Routinely, the Chronicle sports page (and blogs) read like the worst of talk radio and is replete with outlandish statements with little to back them up. I can assure you that I am not alone in my feelings. In fact, I would encourage you to read the comments by die-hard Houston sports fans (and thus, potential subscribers) at the above site and this one as well –

http://www.texanstalk.com/forums/sho...057#post981057

Finally, I take no glee in writing this letter. I truly wish for a local paper with insight and analysis. While I understand the “any publicity is good publicity” mentality, I certainly hope that the Chronicle does not aspire for notoriety at the expense of integrity and solid journalism. Clearly, this article generated a lot of interest, blog hits, comments, etc., so, to some extent, the Chronicle may consider this article to be a success (and I would be curious as to whether this is true). It should not be.

Thanks for your time.

[KJ3]

hard to be a good sports journalist when john mcclain can out-write you......

[Keith]

Good news: Steph is blogging on chron.com again.

Bad news: Richard is blogging on chron.com again.

[Keith]

Mentioned this some in the thread discussing the team's decision to not renew the contracts of Riley and Bastin, but Richard's blog is once again disastrous.

BFD from DGDB&D has the review if you want to invest more in the details.

Unsaid in the blog entry is that Richard apparently was less polite on 1560AM the same day in calling GM Rick Smith a "creep".

[HPF Bob]

Skip Bayless? I always do.

[jppaul]

Did you see his latest blog bagging on McNair, whom I consider one of the best owners in sports. What an idiot.

[Mike]

Not sure why people keep clicking on his blog, that keeps him in business.

Since I cancelled my subscription to the comical, when they call trying to get me to re-start I politely tell them "no" and proceed to tell them that they have a bunch of gutless, worthless hacks that masquerade as sports reporters and columnists.

[papabear]

Originally Posted by Mike

Not sure why people keep clicking on his blog, that keeps him in business.

Since I cancelled my subscription to the comical, when they call trying to get me to re-start I politely tell them "no" and proceed to tell them that they have a bunch of gutless, worthless hacks that masquerade as sports reporters and columnists.

I always say I'm going to quit, and I do try and avoid Justice and McClane. It's just hard when that's the only local paper we've got. I haven't watched the news in years. I get all of my news from the internet so for local stuff I always end up at the chron...and can't resist not clicking a story about the Texans.

[jppaul]

Originally Posted by papabear

I always say I'm going to quit, and I do try and avoid Justice and McClane. It's just hard when that's the only local paper we've got. I haven't watched the news in years. I get all of my news from the internet so for local stuff I always end up at the chron...and can't resist not clicking a story about the Texans.

I treat all off season news as Methodone for a heroine addict. I won't apoligize for my addiction. Maybe I should get a feature on Intervention.

[Keith]

More hilarity. Please don't click the link unless you really want to waste your time, 'cause here's all you need to know.

Richard Justice puts no faith into his co-worker's reporting skills (that being John McClain's) and bad mouths Alan Burge (yes, full disclosure a friend of ItB.com) in the process for citing McClain to prove his point, plus he goes on to bite the Casserly hand that feeds him (well, feeds him garbage apparently, which is hilarious, too).

Has the Chronicle Sports desk no shame? Yes, rhetorical, I know.

"Although neither side will discuss specifics of the offer, it is known the Texans were willing to pay Robinson like Carolina cornerback Chris Gamble." ... John McClain, Feb. 20
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/6273910.html
McClain went further on the radio and said that the offer exceeded Gamble's (in guaranteed money). I'm sure I wasn't the only one that heard it.

p.s., Don't get fixated on total value. This isn't baseball. Report the guaranteed money and the years.

[The devil is in the details, my friend. I've been around NFL negotiations long enough to know there's a front side and a back side to the contracts. One side can spin an offer to be worth one amount, the other side another amount. I don't trust anyone's reporting except my own on this. In Washington, Charley Casserly twice leaked me numbers that were lies. When I printed different numbers in the newspaper, he never objected. I don't believe Dunta Robinson would have turned down Chris Gamble's contract, but I'm telling you I don't have the numbers nailed down. I'm not going to guess or say I've got numbers in the neighborhood. At some point, I'll get the numbers and give them to you. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out. All I'm certain of is that Rick Smith hasn't handled this deal well. He told the player one thing and then did another.--Richard]


Posted by: aj at April 3, 2009 07:37 PM

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Gee, I didn't realize we were friends...I don't even know you. Along with others, I was just letting you in on what your co-worker had previously reported about Dunta's offer.

[We're not friends. People like me don't befriend people like you. You have a column, right? You're a professional journalist, right? I'm more interested in what your reporting has come up with. Oh that's right, you haven't done any reporting. You steal from others and presume it's correct. Let me give you a basic journalism lesson, junior. Get out of your mother's basement and do some work of your own. If the only source you've got is someone else's work, then you should try another line of work. You people.--Richard]


Posted by: aj at April 4, 2009 08:26 AM

http://blogs.chron.com/sportsjustice...soon_know.html

Justice still has yet to confirm or deny his co-worker's report, other than to rush to assumptions and tarnish it without reason, of course.

[popanot]

It's amazing how he acts like a little school girl when proven wrong or when someone questions his knowledge, motives, or resources. My 10-yr. old can formulate more mature and reasonable arguments than that hack. I have a feeling it won't be long before he works in the timeless - "I'm rubber and you're glue..." - comeback.

[Keith]

More... these have mysteriously gone missing since it was posted, btw. And yes, Alan is correct, Justice wrong, but you already knew that, didn't you?

No, actually I'm not a professional journalist. I don't have a credential and can't get one. I do what I do in my spare time because of the lousy local coverage we get for the Texans. To use a Paul Kuharsyism, I cover the coverage, which at times (like this) is brutal at best.
So let's sum up here. First you said the only guaranteed money in the NFL is signing bonus, which is not correct. Then you said no one had reported that Dunta had received Gamble money - which was wrong. Now you throw jr. high girl-like hissy fits and insults my way for some reason.... yep, Houston sure is lucky to have 'journalists' like you.

[The signing bonus is the only guaranteed money. Now the first-year salary and sometimes second-year salary can be represented as guaranteed money because of the salary cap hit, but it's not written into the contract as guarantee money. So you're wrong about that. Second, no one has reported the Texans' offer to Dunta Robinson. I've seen ''in the neighborhood of,'' but that doesn't tell you what the offer is. NFL contracts are complicated documents. The publicly reported figure frequently isn't accurate. I know agents that love leaking numbers to reporters when the actual value is far different. They're not lying exactly. They're spinning. Third, you represent yourself as a journalist, but you don't actually do any work other than read what others have and comment on it. Pretty good gig.--Richard]
Posted by: aj at April 6, 2009 06:36 AM

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Re [RJ said]: "Now the first-year salary and sometimes second-year salary can be represented as guaranteed money because of the salary cap hit, but it's not written into the contract as guarantee money"
fyi, there are two lines on the Player Contract Information Form on the standard NFL player contract that show guaranteed base salary (in writing).
One line shows the amount of the Paragraph 5 salary guaranteed, if any, and another line shows the amount guaranteed, if any, relative to skill, injury or both. Both amounts are specifically written into the contract and are separately accounted from (but included in) the specified yearly cap amount.
I'm not a journalist, and I can't say that particular career path ever crossed my mind. I'm just a fan blogger that's followed the NFL and Houston sports for a long time and I do what I do in my spare time. btw, your flippant and condescending remarks make you look really bad, but none of that bothers me so I'm not sure what you're gaining by any of that. I'm actually quite shocked that you engage readers in such a way.
Looking forward to the information you promised on the Texans offer to Dunta so I can comment on it. Get to work, will ya?

[I spoke to Dunta's agent this morning. I'm sure you know him well in doing your research. Oh wait, you don't do any research. You steal from others and call it research. Nice gig. As for your understanding of a player contract, it's basically 100 percent wrong. There are specific guarantees written into contracts, but those are very unusual except for quarterbacks and some free agents. However, if the signing bonus is large enough, the contract essentially is guaranteed for the first year or so because of the cap hit. All I know for sure is that Dunta is ticked off at how this has been handled and doesn't plan on showing up.There are zero negotiations going on at the moment, and then it comes down to how far does he push it. Would he be williing to miss a game check because he's mad at the GM? A smart GM would be continuing a dialogue, but Rick Smith may not be smart.--Richard]
Posted by: aj at April 6, 2009 01:11 PM