Photo Altered Because of Obscene Gesture

Prep Football: Photo raises a furor in Carroll
BY KEVIN WHITE, OMAHA WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER.

Three Carroll High School football players face a one-game suspension for making what the school has deemed obscene hand gestures in a team photograph. The decision prompted one boy’s father to resign as a booster club president and left the local newspaper explaining its decision to publish an altered version of the photo. The controversy comes the week Carroll High is to play cross-town rival Carroll Kuemper. The photo, taken by the Carroll Daily Times Herald, appeared Monday in the newspaper’s fall sports preview section. The newspaper “blurred” four players in the photo, three of whom were making similar hand gestures and a fourth whom the newspaper judged not to be acting in a “respectable manner.” The fourth player was not suspended from playing. Every player on the team, including those obscured, was identified by name below the photo.

An editor’s note followed: “The above photo has been altered to remove hand gestures displayed by four members of the team. While we considered not publishing the photo, we felt it was not fair to the 51 young individuals who conducted themselves in a respectable manner.” In explaining her decision to run the altered photo, Ann Wilson, general manager and co-owner of the Daily Times Herald, said Monday that the players’ action “was disrespectful to the team, to us and to women, which means mothers, sisters and girlfriends.”

“Why cover it up?” she asked. “I think young people need to learn to take responsibility for their actions.” On Tuesday she added that the paper would have handled any gesture, including one not considered offensive, the same way. “Any gesture would be considered inappropriate, whether it’s a thumbs-up or anything,” she said. “If it happens again, we’d do it the exact same way.” On Monday, Wilson said she strongly opposed shooting the photo again, citing an unwillingness to take up more of the team’s time, as well as the newspaper’s time and resources. – more