Blogger harassment continues

April 28th, 200810:31 pm @ Bob

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Reno blogger Ryan Jerz continues to face harassment for his outing of complaint-happy, former University of Nevada, Reno soccer coach Terri Patraw.Jerz outed Patraw’s–and/or her supporters’–online behavior, wherein it appeared as if all defenses of Patraw were coming from the same computer. First Patraw threatened to sue Jerz. Most recently, Jerz’s web host is being threatened with a suit if the host does not take down Jerz’s site.

The tragic aspect of this story is that if Patraw is half the soccer coach she and pseudonymous fans claim she is, apparently the students with athletic potential, those who could benefit from a good coach, are less important than trying to prove a righteous point in court–a prospect that will no doubt take place over many years. These reputation-enhancing antics are sure to influence the prospect of a cozy coaching job somewhere while suits are being litigated.

Having been in positions where I either was fired or walked out–it’s been more than once in both accounts–it’s almost always better to go on your own terms than to raise a public stink about it. And dare I add: even if you have been wronged.

Regardless of who is in the right, at the end of the day, organizations do not have a conscience. People, however, do, and it’s up to each of us how we choose to exercise our sense of rightness, for better or for worse.