Britt McHenry WOW

[Selassie I]

And I thought this was the slow time of year around here. opcorn:

 

[RamsSince1969]

Wow. I don't want her. The Cheatriots can have her.

I bet Robert Kraft wants her, LOL! I think she might give him a heart attack or he would jump out a window once the honeymoon ended after she assaulted him 24/7 with her bitching and complaining. I guess the moral to the story is be careful what you wish for as she didn't get to a fairly high position in a predominantly run NFL "man's world" by being a nice person. It sure went to her head! She needs to speak with Hank Williams Jr.. He could give her some advice about keeping your mouth shut or losing a dream gig by thinking you're 10 feet tall, bullet proof and can say anything you want without repercussions. Apparently, Hitler comments are off limits, even for Hank!

 

[CGI_Ram]

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/17/living/feat-espn-britt-mchenry-response/index.html

Story highlights

• ESPN reporter Britt McHenry caught on video berating a towing company employee
• CNN's Kelly Wallace used the story as a teachable moment for her daughters
• Wallace: McHenry could learn from other celebrities who responded gracefully in stressful situations

Kelly Wallace is CNN's digital correspondent and editor-at-large covering family, career and life. Read her other columns and follow her reports at CNN Parents and on Twitter.

(CNN)I don't always talk about news events with my daughters, but there was something about the story of ESPN reporter Britt McHenry and the wildly offensive way she spoke to that towing company employee that made me bring it up.

One of the main things I preach to my girls, ages 7 and 9, is the importance of respecting other people, no matter who you are and what you go on to accomplish.

It's something that my husband and I just do -- we show respect to everyone from a taxi driver to a teacher to the President of the United States.

Let me say right here that I have lost my cool from time to time, whether it's been a phone call with a credit card company to complain about late fees or an experience of bad service at a restaurant.

In those cases, when I feel like I'm going to pop, I keep saying, "This is unacceptable, This is unacceptable," and either hang up in disgust or storm off. (Not perfect ways of handling these incidents, but at no time would I ever think to insult or demean the other person in these situations.)

Some of McHenry's comments, such as how she's "on television," imply that she may have the dangerous thinking that she, by dint of her career, education and income, is better than people who don't get paid what she does or have the same kind of career or educational opportunities.

McHenry showed that she either forgot those "golden rule" lessons from childhood or that she hasn't really lived her life with that mantra.

McHenry has since apologized on Twitter, saying she said "some insulting and regrettable things," and that as frustrated as she was during an experience at a towing company in Virginia, she should "always choose to be respectful and take the high road."

But it's not clear that apology will satisfy anyone who watched the video of her exchange with the towing company worker.

"I see this Britt McHenry video, and think: it's not just about how a celebrity shouldn't act in public, it's how all of us shouldn't act," wrote "Cait" on Twitter.

Said "Shannon," also on Twittter, "I had no idea who Britt McHenry was before but ... now I know she's the kind of woman I hope I've taught my daughters not to be."

"Her language and disdain brings shame on her, her profession, and her employer. People don't all of sudden have such a vile tirade. This comes after years of practice and a pattern of similar behaviors. Let's let her be an example to others," wrote C Cooper on a Change.org petition asking McHenry's employers to fire her.

I see this Britt McHenry video, and think: it's not just about how a celebrity shouldn't act in public, it's how all of us shouldn't act.

— Cait (@nolanolegal) April 16, 2015

I had no idea who Britt McHenry was before but I now I know she's the kind of woman I hope I've taught my daughters not to be.

— Shannon (@suburbanlemon) April 17, 2015
The McHenry story seemed to strike a chord in our household because my older daughter asked what was going to happen to her.

This morning, I told her McHenry was suspended for a week by ESPN, and that led to another conversation.

My kids seemed to get it and many celebrities also seem to remember to "treat other people the way you would want them to treat you" even in uncomfortable moments.

Celebrity apologies: The good, bad and uncomfortable

So, Britt McHenry, check out these examples of how the rich, famous and powerful handled stressful situations with grace and dignity.



Exhibit A: Kelly Clarkson


After British journalist Katie Hopkins seriously fat-shamed pop music star Kelly Clarkson, saying a host of insulting things about the singer's weight, Clarkson won praise for her graceful response.

"That's because she doesn't know me. I'm awesome. It doesn't bother me. It's a free world. Say what you will. I've just never cared what people think," she said.


Exhibit B: Mo'ne Davis

A college baseball player gets suspended for calling Little League baseball phenom Mo'ne Davis a "slut."Her response? She emailed Bloomsburg University asking that the college reinstate him.

"Everyone makes mistakes and everyone deserves a second chance," Davis, the first girl to earn a win and to pitch a shutout in Little League World Series history, told ESPN. "... I know right now he's really hurt and I know how hard he worked to get where he is. I mean, I was pretty hurt on my part but I know he's hurting even more."

Exhibit C: Pope Francis


When an Argentinian journalist wrote an open letter to Pope Francis expressing concern about the pontiff meeting with the country's president ahead of the general election in October and possibly influencing the outcome,what did the Pope do? Well, he picked up the phone and gave the journalist a call.

Wish we could have been a fly on the wall for that conversation! The pope appears to have been more than graceful, because after the conversation, the journalist pledged to learn how to pray.

Exhibit D: Beyonce

When Queen Bey faced immense criticism after allegedly lip-synching the national anthem in honor of President Obama's inauguration in 2013, she didn't come out swinging.

Instead, she admitted to singing along with her "pre-recorded track" at the inauguration but only after she opened her news conference with what was described as a stirring, a cappella rendition of the national anthem.


Exhibit E: Reese Witherspoon


Finally, Reese Witherspoon may be the closest example for McHenry to consider when it comes to overcoming a very offensive episode.

When Witherspoon and her husband were pulled over in 2013 for suspicion of driving under the influence, the Academy Award winning actress was recorded making comments to the officer such as, "Do you know who I am?" and "You're about to find out who I am."

She ultimately issued an apologetic statement, and then went on morning television to apologize some more.

"We went out to dinner in Atlanta, and we had one too many glasses of wine, and we thought we were fine to drive and we absolutely were not," she said on "Good Morning America." "It's completely unacceptable, and we are so sorry and embarrassed. We know better, and we shouldn't have done that."

And, she added, "When a police officer tells you to stay in the car, you stay in the car. I learned that for sure," she told the GMA host .

Now, did McHenry learn that when a towing company worker or anyone else makes you incredibly angry, you never berate them for their weight, job, appearance and income?

Let's hope so.

Can you think of other examples where the rich and powerful responded to a stressful situation with grace instead of disrespect? Share your thoughts with Kelly Wallace on Twitter or CNN Living on Facebook.​

 

[RamFan503]

OK - I had my car towed to impound when I was in Hawaii from an unmarked area. The answer was that I should have known the area was for residents only and signage was not a requirement. WTF??? It was obviously a money grab preying on tourists.

I can't defend this bitch's lack of class but I can tell you that the tow company people - every last one of them - were total scum bags and one of them even called me a dumb ass whitey. I was in no way as rude as this little biotch but I think I would have been justified in that instance. They were laughing at me - pretty much taunting me that they have my car and they don't give a shit if I think it's right or wrong. And I seriously wanted to put my foot up the ass of the bitch behind the cage taking my cash. Yes - BTW it was cash or money order only. They said they don't take credit cards because too many people dispute the charges. Gee - I wonder why.

 

[RamFan503]

BTW - Kelly Wallace can blow me.

 

[Ramhusker]

OK - I had my car towed to impound when I was in Hawaii from an unmarked area. The answer was that I should have known the area was for residents only and signage was not a requirement. WTF??? It was obviously a money grab preying on tourists.

I can't defend this bitch's lack of class but I can tell you that the tow company people - every last one of them - were total scum bags and one of them even called me a dumb ass whitey. I was in no way as rude as this little biotch but I think I would have been justified in that instance. They were laughing at me - pretty much taunting me that they have my car and they don't give a crap if I think it's right or wrong. And I seriously wanted to put my foot up the ass of the bitch behind the cage taking my cash. Yes - BTW it was cash or money order only. They said they don't take credit cards because too many people dispute the charges. Gee - I wonder why.

I guess I'm old enough now that, when somebody screws me over like that, I really have to get even and pretty much don't give a damn if it is right or not. I'd try and keep my cool long enough to get my vehicle back but I may swing by Wal Mart on the way home to buy a can opener, ice pick, sugar, ping pong balls,simplex nails, and maybe some paint remover. Somebody is gonna pay!

 

[RamFan503]

I guess I'm old enough now that, when somebody screws me over like that, I really have to get even and pretty much don't give a damn if it is right or not. I'd try and keep my cool long enough to get my vehicle back but I may swing by Wal Mart on the way home to buy a can opener, ice pick, sugar, ping pong balls,simplex nails, and maybe some paint remover. Somebody is gonna pay!

Yeah - It was the wee hours of Saturday morning (after the bars closed) and I was a haole in the wrong part of town. Believe me, they generally don't put impound yards in nice areas. I wasn't exactly going to wait outside the gate for some opportunity to get pounded into the ground then arrested. I instead wrote a letter to the court and police dept. To say they didn't give a shit is an understatement.

 

[Ramhusker]

Yeah - It was the wee hours of Saturday morning (after the bars closed) and I was a haole in the wrong part of town. Believe me, they generally don't put impound yards in nice areas. I wasn't exactly going to wait outside the gate for some opportunity to get pounded into the ground then arrested. I instead wrote a letter to the court and police dept. To say they didn't give a crap is an understatement.

I know but I have a memory like an elephant when it comes to getting wronged in such a way. It may be a month later but some shit is going to get slung sooner or later if you know what I mean.

 

[Memento]

On another note:

Exhibit B: Mo'ne Davis

A college baseball player gets suspended for calling Little League baseball phenom Mo'ne Davis a "slut." Her response? She emailed Bloomsburg University asking that the college reinstate him.

"Everyone makes mistakes and everyone deserves a second chance," Davis, the first girl to earn a win and to pitch a shutout in Little League World Series history, told ESPN. "... I know right now he's really hurt and I know how hard he worked to get where he is. I mean, I was pretty hurt on my part but I know he's hurting even more."
​

That girl is amazing. Enough said.​

 

[MarkMyWords]

A college player calls a 13 year old girl a slut??? Wow. At least one of them is mature........

 

[Tailback]

South Berlin sucks. East Berlin is where it's at. It's like Portland, OR. Nobody would have dared step foot in East Portland prior to 1995. Now the Hollywood and Rose City area are the trendy areas. East Berlin is the same way. Ignore the pockmarks from WWII machineguns, It just adds to the ambiance. Totally an up an coming urban neighborhood....

 

[Tron]

I already miss Casey Phillips

 

[Prime Time]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...s-espn-employees-reportedly-want-mchenry-out/

Anonymous ESPN employees reportedly want McHenry out
Posted by Mike Florio on April 19, 2015

Getty Images

The notorious tow-lot video featuring ESPN reporter Britt McHenry has sparked plenty of strong reactions among media and fans. According to TMZ (via TheBigLead.com), strong reactions have occurred within ESPN, too.

Multiple employees of the four-letter network reportedly think McHenry should be and/or will be fired in the aftermath of her four-letter, mean-spirited, I’m-better-than-you rant caught on video — and on audio — at an undisclosed location at an unknown date and time.

Suspended for a week by ESPN, some unnamed co-workers think McHenry eventually will be suspended for good. Regardless of how this plays out, let’s take an opportunity on a somewhat slow Sunday to take a closer look at some of the risks raised by taking employment action against someone for an incident occurring beyond the boundaries of his or her employment.

There’s a saying in the legal profession that bad facts make bad law. In other words, when something happens that cries out for a specific outcome, the rules can get twisted to lead to that outcome without regard to the precedent it sets. In this specific case, the precedent possibly becomes that anything an on-air employee at ESPN says or does while off the clock can be the basis for discipline or discharge, even without behavior that would result in an arrest.

Should that be the standard for any employee? I’ve argued for years that the NFL shouldn’t reach into the urine of a player to determine whether he is or isn’t smoking marijuana or using other recreational drugs that don’t enhance performance. Why should ESPN be able to impose discipline based whether an on-air employee treats another person rudely while not at work?

And what amounts to rude behavior? Refusing to sign an autograph? Not leaving enough of a tip at a restaurant? Bumping into someone without saying, “Excuse me”?

Yes, McHenry played the “I’m in the news” card, but she never said she works for ESPN and there’s no reason to believe she was working for ESPN at the time she made those remarks. Does every ESPN on-air employee now have to worry about anything and everything they say in any setting, even when they’re not working?

On one hand, if ESPN employees don’t treat other people the way McHenry treated the person behind the counter at the tow lot, it won’t be a problem. On the other hand, why does any employer have the right to take action against someone for something they did on their own time when that behavior has no relevance to the person’s job performance?

There’s also the question of whether McHenry knew her words were being recorded. While it doesn’t excuse the behavior, surveillance cameras typically capture only video and not audio because the recording of audio amounts to a potential wiretapping violation. Even in a jurisdiction where only one party must consent to the conversation being record (in this case, the tow-lot employee), a private conversation between two people at the counter while the tow-lot employee was away from the window would potentially violate the law.

In McHenry’s case, the original video was presented in a way that suggests she saw the camera before saying some of the worst things she said; if she had no reason to believe the camera also had a microphone, her decision to continue with the tirade after spotting the camera becomes a bit less confusing.

Again, none of this makes her conduct acceptable. The real question becomes whether the disclosure of the audio and the ensuing embarrassment is punishment enough, or whether ESPN has the ability to take action against her for something that happened away from work. The audience can choose not to like or respect her; is that sufficient (absent evidence of widespread channel-changing when she appears on screen) to justify taking her off the air?

Then there are the notorious Chris Berman on-set but off-air videos. From a profanity-laced rant against the crew for moving around while he was on the air to an extended explanation of how to smuggle codeine from Canada to creepy flirtations with a female colleague, Berman never faced any scrutiny or discipline when comments he made appeared online.

While he never singled out any one person for demeaning comments, Berman’s behavior happened while he was on the clock for ESPN. McHenry’s didn’t.

There’s no easy answer to this one. Regardless of whether McHenry deserves to be heavily criticized for her comments to the tow-lot employee (and the court of public opinion has concluded that she does), the question of whether she deserves to be suspended or eventually fired by ESPN becomes far more complicated when considering how the precedent will apply going forward — and when contemplating how this standard would have or should have applied in past cases of recorded comments made by other ESPN employees under circumstances far more closely connected to the employment relationship.

 

[-X-]

I'd love to see the UNedited video instead of what that shit towing company provided. I don't believe, for one second, that there wasn't some instigating going on from the other side of that counter. I've had many a run-in with towing companies in the past, and I found most of them to be very aggravating people to deal with. They don't give a damn about your problems (like missing work, taking your money, the fact that you weren't illegally parked, etc). They just take the position that they're 100% right, 100% of the time, and it almost seems like they take some measure of joy out of putting people through the grief of getting their car back.

Whether it makes me a despicable human being or not, I'll freely admit that I've berated people in customer service who gave me a shitty attitude before.
If they gave her an attitude, or egged her on, then I'm on her side completely. If those comments were unprovoked, then she just looks petty and stupid.

 

[Rmfnlt]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...s-espn-employees-reportedly-want-mchenry-out/

Anonymous ESPN employees reportedly want McHenry out
Posted by Mike Florio on April 19, 2015

Getty Images

The notorious tow-lot video featuring ESPN reporter Britt McHenry has sparked plenty of strong reactions among media and fans. According to TMZ (via TheBigLead.com), strong reactions have occurred within ESPN, too.

Multiple employees of the four-letter network reportedly think McHenry should be and/or will be fired in the aftermath of her four-letter, mean-spirited, I’m-better-than-you rant caught on video — and on audio — at an undisclosed location at an unknown date and time.

Suspended for a week by ESPN, some unnamed co-workers think McHenry eventually will be suspended for good. Regardless of how this plays out, let’s take an opportunity on a somewhat slow Sunday to take a closer look at some of the risks raised by taking employment action against someone for an incident occurring beyond the boundaries of his or her employment.

There’s a saying in the legal profession that bad facts make bad law. In other words, when something happens that cries out for a specific outcome, the rules can get twisted to lead to that outcome without regard to the precedent it sets. In this specific case, the precedent possibly becomes that anything an on-air employee at ESPN says or does while off the clock can be the basis for discipline or discharge, even without behavior that would result in an arrest.

Should that be the standard for any employee? I’ve argued for years that the NFL shouldn’t reach into the urine of a player to determine whether he is or isn’t smoking marijuana or using other recreational drugs that don’t enhance performance. Why should ESPN be able to impose discipline based whether an on-air employee treats another person rudely while not at work?

And what amounts to rude behavior? Refusing to sign an autograph? Not leaving enough of a tip at a restaurant? Bumping into someone without saying, “Excuse me”?

Yes, McHenry played the “I’m in the news” card, but she never said she works for ESPN and there’s no reason to believe she was working for ESPN at the time she made those remarks. Does every ESPN on-air employee now have to worry about anything and everything they say in any setting, even when they’re not working?

On one hand, if ESPN employees don’t treat other people the way McHenry treated the person behind the counter at the tow lot, it won’t be a problem. On the other hand, why does any employer have the right to take action against someone for something they did on their own time when that behavior has no relevance to the person’s job performance?

There’s also the question of whether McHenry knew her words were being recorded. While it doesn’t excuse the behavior, surveillance cameras typically capture only video and not audio because the recording of audio amounts to a potential wiretapping violation. Even in a jurisdiction where only one party must consent to the conversation being record (in this case, the tow-lot employee), a private conversation between two people at the counter while the tow-lot employee was away from the window would potentially violate the law.

In McHenry’s case, the original video was presented in a way that suggests she saw the camera before saying some of the worst things she said; if she had no reason to believe the camera also had a microphone, her decision to continue with the tirade after spotting the camera becomes a bit less confusing.

Again, none of this makes her conduct acceptable. The real question becomes whether the disclosure of the audio and the ensuing embarrassment is punishment enough, or whether ESPN has the ability to take action against her for something that happened away from work. The audience can choose not to like or respect her; is that sufficient (absent evidence of widespread channel-changing when she appears on screen) to justify taking her off the air?

Then there are the notorious Chris Berman on-set but off-air videos. From a profanity-laced rant against the crew for moving around while he was on the air to an extended explanation of how to smuggle codeine from Canada to creepy flirtations with a female colleague, Berman never faced any scrutiny or discipline when comments he made appeared online.

While he never singled out any one person for demeaning comments, Berman’s behavior happened while he was on the clock for ESPN. McHenry’s didn’t.

There’s no easy answer to this one. Regardless of whether McHenry deserves to be heavily criticized for her comments to the tow-lot employee (and the court of public opinion has concluded that she does), the question of whether she deserves to be suspended or eventually fired by ESPN becomes far more complicated when considering how the precedent will apply going forward — and when contemplating how this standard would have or should have applied in past cases of recorded comments made by other ESPN employees under circumstances far more closely connected to the employment relationship.

Ah, the sticky problem of how employees in the media (or sports... or entertainment... public figures) may have to be held to a higher standard.

When you represent your company in the public eye, the company may decide to reprimand you if you act unprofessional.

Fair? Nope... but that just comes with being a public figure. You always have to be on your guard... 24/7/365.