Sports journalism: A-Rod and the unwritten rule

Should newspapers report on the extramarital affairs of athletes? If the answer is yes, the subject could probably have its own daily pull-out section, but for more than one hundred years reporters have held to the unwritten rule that the athletes should be able to have a semblance of a private life outside the arena. The New York Post decided to break the arrangement last month when it decided to go after Yankee Alex Rodriguez who was photographed in Toronto with a woman who was not his wife. "It felt like the line had been moved," said Buster Olney, who was once the Yankees beat reporter for the New York Times. For an excellent article about A-Rod and sports journalism ethics, check out the New York Observer's "Hey, A-Rod! Smile!"