THV Insider: Sports Arrests

Last week, we reported that former Arkansas Razorback Keith Jackson, Junior, was been arrested on suspicion of felony drug charges.

Prosecutors say Jackson was found inside an apartment that had two pounds of marijuana, a gram of cocaine, and at least 50 tablets of ecstasy.

Three others were arrested at the apartment and police said two children were at the scene when police executed a search warrant.

Jackson was drafted by the St. Louis Rams and is the son of Keith Jackson, who was a star tight end for the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1980s and '90s.

Whenever we cover an arrest like this, we are often criticized for blowing the arrest out of porportion

Take for instance, Matt Jones, former Razorback and Jacksonville Jaguar. He was arrested last July on a drug charge in Fayetteville and later dropped from the NFL team for violating his parole after he was caught drinking beer.

When he was arrested News25 wrote on our website, "Typical news media. Make a stupid drug bust the biggest thing in AR. How do you explain this to your kid? You wouldn't have to if the news didn't throw it in their face. Way to kick a man when he's down!"

Another example, Darren McFadden. In January of last year, he was handcuffed at a River Market bar after a scuffle broke out.
He was never charged, arrested, or accused of any wrong-doing.

Police contended they were trying to calm him down.

Still, many viewers at the time asked, 'why cover such a thing? Leave D-Mac alone!'

Well, here's what we consider when deciding whether to cover such an arrest.

First of all, players like Keith Jackson, Matt Jones, and D-Mac are famous, in their own right. Many argue they are role models, whom children look up to.

And in Arkansas, they are household names. So pretty much anything they do, good or bad, will likely make news.

Second, we always consider the following: is it new, is it relevant, is it compelling, and does the public have a right to know?

In all the above stories we just mentioned, the answer is "yes" to each of these questions.

By the way, in the last couple weeks, at least 4 Razorback players were arrested, all in separate incidents for separate offenses. The only one we reported was the arrest of Keith Jackson, Junior.