Demagogue

On her blog, Michelle Malkin refers to a recent USA Today article that described the Colorado Rockies pro baseball team as "an organization guided by Christianity — open to other religious beliefs but embracing a Christian-based code of conduct they believe will bring them focus and success." Malkin hails this as "refreshing" news, and she writes:

Wait until the ACLU hears about this.

Unlike so many other professional athletes in debauchery-filled locker rooms, the members of the Colorado Rockies baseball team do more than say token prayers. Its managers take faith and character seriously.

But Malkin manages to make herself look particularly silly because, as she herself notes, subsequent articles in two Colorado newspapers reported that USA Today misrepresented the influence of religion on the team. Malkin admits that the USA Today article may have "got it wrong," although she wonders if the real explanation might be that the team "doesn't want 'bad publicity' over the fact that many of its players hold Christian prayer meetings instead of partying."

Of course, had Malkin taken the time to actually read these articles, she would have understood why several Rockies players took issue with USA Today's depiction. For example, this is what Rockies pitcher Jason Jennings told the Denver Post about the original article:

"It was just bad. I am not happy at all. Some of the best teammates I have ever had are the furthest thing from Christian. You don't have to be a Christian to have good character. They can be separate. It was misleading."

The Denver Post article also clarified this point:

The (USA Today) story stated that men's magazines such as Playboy, Penthouse and Maxim could not be found in the Rockies' clubhouse, but that Bibles were present.

Several players read Maxim in the visiting clubhouse during the Padres' series this week. Two separate issues sat on the center coffee table Wednesday.

"I have never seen a Bible (out in the open) in our clubhouse," said pitcher Aaron Cook, who has led the team's chapel service during spring training. "Most of the guys on this team are Christians, but not all of them. And the fact is you don't build a winner around just Christians. If that was the case, everybody would be doing it."

I could understand a Christian conservative writing a post like the one Malkin wrote if it had been written on the day the USA Today article appeared. But what amazes me is this: Malkin actually wrote her post praising the Rockies' "Christian" behavior and excerpting 7 paragraphs of the original article after the follow-up articles revealed that USA Today had seriously misrepresented the team.

It's one thing to be smug and ignorant. But it's another to remain smug and ignorant even when subsequent reports shatter your conclusion.