Baseball Hall of Fame Writer Accused of Molestations, Hours after the Philadelphia Inquirer posted a report alleging that Hall of Fame baseball columnist Bill Conlin had sexually molested four children, the Baseball Writers Association of America released this statement:

Statement on Bill Conlin, winner of the 2011 J.G. Taylor Spink Award:

“Bill Conlin has been a member in good standing of the BBWAA since 1966. The allegations have no bearing on his winning the 2011 J.G. Taylor Spink Award, which was in recognition of his notable career as a baseball writer.”

- Jack O’Connell, BBWAA secretary/treasurer Dec. 20, 2011


The statement seems tone deaf, and insensitive to the alleged victims. Because it was issued by an organization of which I have been a member since 2009, I feel compelled to publicly distance myself from it, and make clear that it does not represent me.

I am not advocating a rush to condemn Conlin. But even if the Inquirer story were discredited tomorrow, the BBWAA statement would still have been ill-advised.

Why?

Because it contained no acknowledgement of the gravity of the situation; if the Inquirer’s reporting was accurate, four children were made to suffer greatly.

Perhaps, despite the many questions the BBWAA was surely being asked about Conlin on Tuesday, it would have been better to decline comment altogether, until the facts were digested, and perspective achieved.

Philadelphia Daily News editor Larry Platt, who accepted Conlin’s retirement Tuesday, told the Inquirer: "I can't even begin to express the shock, sadness, and outrage I feel by what Bill Conlin is alleged to have done."

That statement was clear about both the troubling nature of the allegations, and the fact they remain just that -- allegations.

I wish that my organization. the BBWAA, had achieved a similar balance.

Source: nydailynews