I would like to apologize for Dave O’Neil’s column from last Monday’s Lantern. See, O’Neil is what we commonly refer to as a “hater.” One definition of a hater is someone who talks badly about a person who has had experience and success when they have not.
In regards to Monday’s column, “Booze, not boos, led to Bellisari’s demise,” O’Neil talked trash about Ohio State athletes and what they do during their downtime because he knows nothing about it. In actuality, O’Neil would love to be Steve Bellisari. He would love to be able to go to any bar on High Street and have people know his name.
O’Neil mentioned Lydell Ross in his column, saying he was at The Spot Bar, too, then equated his presence there to his performance on Saturday. I’ve got a couple of problems with that. First, I’d love to see O’Neil rush for 13 yards on five carries against the number 10 team in the BCS. Secondly, how did he know Ross was at The Spot? Does O’Neil have insiders spying on athletes or was he there, too? If he was, I wonder how O’Neil got home?
What our readers need to understand is O’Neil is The Lantern’s sports editor and therefore has control over what stories get published in his section. I know it’s crazy we would have a sports editor who hates student athletes, hates it when fans do the Wave at football games and has never been an athlete in his life. But that’s the way things go. That’s why the Reader’s Forum is packed with people who are disgusted with his hypocrisy.
This is not to say that he isn’t a good guy. He works hard to produce a quality publication day after day. It’s just unfortunate that he chooses to pass his personal opinions off as newsworthy information.
The Lantern’s readers need to know O’Neil’s opinion is his own, not that of the entire staff of writers and editors whose personal opinions aren’t as readily available to the OSU community.
Edmund Brownseniorjournalism
