Nets Cover Women’s Basketball Team Stuck in Blizzard – Forget to Mention THIS
It’s really nothing short of censorship.
During their Nov. 19 evening news shows, ABC, NBC and CBS reported on the story of the Niagara University women’s basketball team stranded on New York’s Interstate 90 after their bus hit a blizzard. While correspondents noted how the team melted snow for water, they didn’t mention the team’s positivity – and prayer – during the ordeal lasting approximately 30 hours.
According to The Washington Post’s Lindsey Bever, prayer was central to the effort to get through the situation – and was part of her headline: “College basketball team trapped in N.Y. blizzard started praying.”
Network viewers wouldn’t know that. On “CBS Evening News
with Scott Pelley,” Jericka Duncan
reported on the story of how, “Members of the Niagara University
women's basketball team were stuck on their bus for nearly 30 hours.”
“Coach Kendra Faustin says they had to ration their food and water,”
she stressed before a clip played of Faustin explaining how they melted snow
for water.
Gio Benitez, for “ABC News Tonight with Davis Muir,” reported, “All finally safe tonight.” He also noted how the team used snow for water – and “posted long-faced selfies calling for help.”
Last but not least, “NBC Nightly News” Lester Holt announced how the team “was rescued after spending more than 24 hours stranded on the highway rationing food and melting snow for water.”
Not one mentioned the team’s unity in prayer.
In Bever’s Post article, Emily Granruth explained how teammate Tiffany Corselli began prayer on the bus “as a way to keep our spirits up.” In a photo posted on Twitter, Bever reported, the players were “holding hands and bowing their heads.”
“At the top of every hour, I’ve been praying for our strength,” 19-year-old Corselli told The Post. “I just felt that it was something that we needed and it really brought our team together.”
Of course, some Post readers weren’t happy the paper didn’t go the censorship route. “Really, you got that headline from that story? Could just as easily have been ‘Team stuck in bus uncomfortable, but grateful that bus had enough fuel.’ I guess that wasn't tabloid-y enough,” wrote one in the comment section.
Another whined: “Why the hell is the headline about praying? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? It could have been about peeing in bottles, or laughing and joking... or it could have been about how no god or angel came to rescue them.”
In contrast, another responded, “Now I've seen it all. A heart-warming story about young people facing adversity in a positive way and most of the comments are looking for something to criticize. Get a life!”
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— Katie Yoder is Staff Writer, Joe and Betty Anderlik Fellow in Culture and Media at the Media Research Center. Follow Katie Yoder on Twitter.
