After pulling a Barbara Walters on Thursday night by making Mark Ingram cry with a televised message from Mark's incarcerated father, Suzy Kolber is drawing criticism from some of her colleagues.
To some, it was a powerful moment of raw emotion. To others, it was manipulative. Author and Sports Illustrated writer Jeff Pearlman wrote on his blog that he thought ESPN had crossed a line with the interview.
"You don’t spring this sort of letter upon a 21-year-old kid on national TV," Pearlman wrote. "It might make for great viewing, but it’s dishonest, dishonorable and wrong. This is the life he’s been handed—a father behind bars; trying to overcome that and somehow get past it. He should be celebrated. Not exploited."
It seemed a little exploitative to me also, but I was too happy we drafted him at the time to care. Still am. Was it a cheap ambush? Probably, but we all know ESPN will do this from time to time in their never-ending attempts to boost their ratings. They aren't the only ones.
To his credit, Mark didn't seem to mind and used the opportunity to relay a message back to his dad. If Mark isn't bothered by it, then it doesn't bother me either. Good or bad, this is how TV works these days.
What do you think? Did Suzy go too far?