There has been a lot of back lash as of late against Cristiano Ronaldo with the recent resurfacing of the sexual assault allegations that were claimed against him back in 2005 and 2009. Much of this resurfacing is in light of the #MeToo movement and people are not happy about the fact that the allegations did not get more coverage in the time they were current.
“In global soccer, coaches, club directors, and rabid fans will break any moral compass to defend the reputation of men who hardly need it, and Cristiano Ronaldo is an example, par excellence.” – Shireen Ahmed & Brenda Elsey
Much of this controversy is ‘he said vs. she said’. While I don’t think allegations such as this should be dismissed on any level, an issue of this capacity should not be reported on as fact until a court case has found him guilty. Until that point, the reporters are taking away the opportunity of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ by reporting against Ronaldo before he gets his opportunity to comment. Just as any #MeToo movement woman should get a fair chance in voicing their experiences and filing their claims, Ronaldo has a right to make a statement, too. In the end, if it is found that these women are lying about their allegations, Ronaldo’s name will never truly be cleared because the media and fans have already assumed him to be guilty.
Let’s be clear, I’m not defending Ronaldo. If what he did is true, then he deserves to be punished and go to jail. However, it would be just as bad to wrongly accuse him of sexual assault as it would damage his name and professional career forever.
While the #MeToo movement is a great opportunity to give women a voice in a place that may be uncomfortable, it should not be a movement in where we forget what a fair trial and true justice is. Some reporters are scrutinizing the sports industry for only acknowledging elite athlete’s positive actions and not reporting the negative actions, however, I think the reality is that an elite athlete lives a very high profile life and are therefore an easy target for false allegations whether it be of sexual assault, doping, cheating, etc. These sort of allegations need to be correctly and accurately researched before being made fact by media publications because once it is posted, it cannot be taken back.
The media has a powerful tool over an athlete’s career and is not a role that should be taken lightly. If they want to remain in a powerful role, they need to be wary of biased reporting and stick to what they do best, which is reporting the facts. Often times I see reporters get caught up in the passion they have for a topic and start reporting their own opinions as if they are, indeed, fact. While the media has a duty to report current affairs on topics such as elite athletes, they also have a duty to make sure their content is factual before sharing it with the world. It is not fair to make bold accusations against elite athletes just to sell copies and get views on their articles if the statements are not completely accurate.
In the end, it’s not my place to comment on whether the accusations against Ronaldo are true or not. However, in pursuit of justice for both parties, the media should not be reporting on subjects as if they are the judges in these cases. They should stick to their role of reporting the current affairs and keeping a neutral position when reporting on these facts as opposed to spending their time writing biased articles full their opinions and assumptions.
Vitamin Sea 