We've lost count of the number of e-mails sent to the Boston Globe calling for
Ron Borges to be fired or removed from the football beat. The current count (as of 3:30 p.m.) probably stands at about 400 with new e-mails being sent to the Globe from dissatisfied news consumers about every couple of minutes.
The Globe has finally begun to respond with a mass mailing to those who have written to the paper today.
Here's what Globe sports editor Joe Sullivan had to say in this mass mailing:
"Ron Borges is one of the best football writers in the country. As the author of 'On Football' stories in the Globe, he's paid to have an opinion. One of his most recent opinions was that Bill Belichick should be the NFL's Coach of the Year. In past stories he has written that as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee, he will lead the effort for Belichick's induction when the time comes. I see no bias in his work at the Globe."
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Needless to say, the response is underwhelming, disappointing and fails to address the public's concerns. Among the best counter-responses to the Globe's failure was sent to us by a fellow named Josh Friedman:
"Dear Mr. Sullivan:
"Thank you for your prompt reply to my e-mail regarding your sports writer, Ron Borges. As I am sure you are aware, much of my prior e-mail was taken from a form provided on the websites called 'Boston Sports Media' and 'The Cold, Hard Football Facts,' but I agree wholeheartedly with its analysis.
"While Kerry Byrne and Bruce Allen listed fact after fact, and instance upon instance, where Mr. Borges has acted unprofessionally and ignored basic rules of good reportage, your e-mail to me (which appears to be a form itself) is filled with conclusory statements unbuttressed by any facts.
"As a daily Globe reader and a lifelong Bostonian, it disappoints me that your defense of Mr. Borges seems to be so glib. Of course Mr. Borges is paid to have opinions. But, one assumes, he is also paid to support those opinions with facts and reportage. Further, Mr. Borges has never once dealt with the consequences of his opinions being disproven. Your readers are, by and large, intelligent people; do not continue to insult us by mouthing platitudes. In an era that provides sports fans so many different outlets to obtain information, it stuns me that the Globe would not take the concerns of its readers more seriously.
"Please provide detailed reasons, or point to specific examples of Mr. Borges's writing with date and page references, why Mr. Borges statements on ESPN Radio earlier this month, among other transgressions, do not merit some sort of reprimand.
"I look forward to your further response."
Very truly yours,
Joshua E. Friedman, Esq.
