JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC

What a difference a couple of sentences can make.

Two reporters attend the same news conference; they report some of the same basic information, but one reporter includes a couple of pieces of information that the other reporter to chooses to omit. The result? One story leaves sharp-eyed readers with questions and concerns; the other has readers moving on to the next story with no second thoughts.

Such was the case with two accounts of the introduction of Robin Pingeton (pronounced PINCH-ton) last week as the new women’s basketball coach at the University of Missouri.

One account was by Mike DeArmond, long-time University of Missouri athletics reporter for The Kansas City Star; the other was by an Associated Press reporter, who didn’t get a “by-line” on the story, at least not in the ESPN.com version.

Both reporters included in their stories Pingeton’s age, new salary and her record at Illinois State University, where she had been coach. Both also quoted Pingeton as calling the Missouri job “a gold mine” of an opportunity.

Two-thirds of the way through the AP story, however, the reporter noted that Pingeton referred to herself at the news conference as “a Christian who happens to be a coach.” The reporter went on to say that Pingeton was accompanied by her husband and 3-year-old son, and then the reporter shared this piece of information: “She emphasized the theme of family throughout her remarks, noting that the three assistants who will follow from Illinois State are each married with children.” 

For whatever reason, DeArmond chose not to address the “Christian” and “family” issues. His story did not even mention Pingeton’s marital status.

To the casual reader, Pingeton’s reference to Christianity and her emphasis on family might not mean much. But in the world of women’s basketball, those points undoubtedly raised eyebrows. That’s largely because there is a significant gay dimension in women’s basketball. A multitude of gay women are fans; a lot of women coaches and their assistants are lesbians; and some players undoubtedly are gay. 

Without the gay dimension, women’s basketball would not be anywhere near as popular as it is. (An indicator of the popularity of the women’s game: More than 20,000 fans attended the women’s NCAA championship game, between Connecticut and Stanford, last Tuesday in San Antonio.)

As everyone in our sharply divided society realizes, the linkage of “Christian” and “family” values has political overtones that exacerbate the divisions, particularly for people who, while they might be Christian and have families, do not choose to envelop themselves in those values. That’s certainly the case with most gay people — men and women. When they hear the terms Christian and family values mentioned in close proximity, they head in the other direction.  

So, when Pingeton goes out of her way to talk about Christianity and family values, it raises all kinds of flags. And questions…like:

Does this mean that she wants everyone associated with the team, including players, to be practicing Christians? Does it mean she’s going to have prayer meetings and expect her players and coaches to attend services? (You can ask Kansas State Coach Deb Patterson about the wisdom of trying to cram Christianity down the throats of her players. She did just that several years ago and ended up alienating several players, including Kendra Wecker, the best player in team history.)

Does this mean that Pingeton disapproves of gay coaches and players? Does it mean that everyone who prospectively would be associated with the team must take an oath of heterosexuality before being admitted to the “Pingeton team”?

In short, does this mean that Pingeton intends to impose her religious and lifestyle preferences on the University of Missouri women’s program?  

Some of these questions might seem to be far-fetched, but I think that they are reasonable, given that Pingeton is the one who strayed from “basketball speak” the other day and made some strong points about her personal beliefs. Obviously, these things are important to her. But most coaches (and most people, for that matter) are smart enough to keep their personal beliefs out of their work environment. I’ve never heard of another women’s coach making comments along the lines of what Pingeton said, and, to me, it’s a sign of potential trouble. But back to those two accounts of the press conference. If you’d just read The Star’s account, you’d be likely to come away thinking, “OK, so the Robin Pingeton era is underway at MU. Looks good. Looks promising.”

But if you’d read the AP account — or both accounts — you might be wondering if Pingeton intends to steer a narrow course at MU and if, in so doing, she might end up alienating a significant part of the existing and potential fan base. That’s the last thing Missouri can afford: As it is, Missouri averaged fewer than 2,000 fans in 15,000-seat Mizzou Arena. 

As a former reporter and editor and as a keen newspaper reader, my main point is this: How events are covered — what information reporters choose to include in their coverage — is very important. I doubt if it was by accident that the AP reporter included Pingeton’s remarks about Christianity and family values. DeArmond should have reported them, too.