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Rick's List
Harry Reid's Family Injured in Car Accident; Cover-Up in Tiger Woods Investigation?; Media Giving Special Treatment to Ben Roethlisberger?
Aired March 12, 2010 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: We know that you have taken it, and we want to look at the record to see if he was under the influence of prescription drugs, as Elin pointed out, or alcohol.
They were told they couldn't give it to them. Then they came back and they were told, sorry, the computers are down. So, then they came back and they were told, sorry, we can't give it to you without a subpoena. So, then they went to get a subpoena from the assistant state attorney, which is a guy named Steven Foster. I'm reading this to you from the report.
And State Attorney Steven foster said, no, sorry, I'm not going to give you permission. I don't believe there's sufficient evidence to issue that subpoena. So, the following day, FHP, the Florida Highway Patrol, declared its investigation over, and then just wrote Woods a ticket.
Now, obviously, the reason this is significant is because a lot of people are going to point to these actions that I just took you through and say, what's going on here? Was somebody trying to cover up some information? It may not be a bad question. And it's certainly one that we're going to be asking as well, as we take you through this story.
As soon as we get it, Susan Candiotti will do just that.
Meanwhile, multiple people, including a sheriff, say that they saw a helicopter this weekend hovering over homes not far from Brownsville, Texas. The problem is, it appears to be a Mexican helicopter, in fact, a Mexican military helicopter.
Take a look at these pictures. Now, imagine you're in the United States, you look up, and you see a helicopter from another country with the other country's flag over your house, over your jurisdiction.
These are pictures taken about a mile across the border in the United States. The sheriff of Zapata County says he thinks he saw the insignia of the Mexican navy on the aircraft.
Rafael is joining us now to take us through this. And he's been looking into this story since it first began.
I understand this is a controversy, right? This is something that they're talking about there in Zapata.
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: It's a huge controversy, Rick. But the first thing I did when I saw this story was to call governments in Mexico and the United States and confirm it. And they both have confirmed it.
I -- I spoke this afternoon with the ministry of foreign relations in Mexico, and they basically said, yes, it did happen. They said, we are investigating the incident. Involuntary incursions have occasionally occurred on both sides of the border due to the sustained efforts against drug trafficking and organized crime.
On the American side of the border, it was also confirmed, this, by the Customs and Border Protection. And they said, yes, it did happen. It happened on Tuesday. The helicopter was in the air for about 15 to 20 minutes on the American airspace.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
ROMO: Then it flew back to Mexico, and that was the end of the story.
SANCHEZ: This is a major screw-up, isn't it? I mean, they're not supposed to come -- look, when you go from -- I have been there -- when you go from Mexico to Texas, there is a river, the Rio Grande. We know it's there. So, it -- it's not like you can lose your place without -- I mean, there is a geographic landmark.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: You know when you're in the United States.
ROMO: Exactly.
But you also have to remember that there's a big drug fight going on right now between two powerful drug cartels. The Zetas and also the Gulf drug cartel. It's right there where they're fighting. And the Mexican army is fighting them as well. So, I wouldn't be surprised if they just went over a little bit.
SANCHEZ: But this -- shouldn't this be very simple? The United States promises to keep to its jurisdiction and the Mexicans promise to keep to their jurisdiction.
ROMO: Exactly. And, at least publicly, I don't remember of any other case like that going back to probably 1916, when Pancho Villa went into Columbus, New Mexico...
(LAUGHTER)
ROMO: ... to attack the Americans. That's the only known invasion of Mexicans into the United States.
But, both sides, Rick, say that it happens occasionally. There's a lot of secret joint operations between the United States and Mexico, and they occasionally work together. And you would see helicopters, American helicopters, fighting drug cartels in Mexico, and you would see Mexican agents in the United States as well. SANCHEZ: Well, that's fine. If the two countries want to do that, then they need to lead -- let the local folks know that they're going to do that, so people aren't freaked out or alarmed by this.
The fact of the matter is, if people there in Zapata, Americans, American citizens, are upset when they see this, they have a right to be. And -- and -- and our government -and certainly the Mexican government should be apologetic about something like this, shouldn't it?
ROMO: Exactly. And they were telling me that -- that the helicopter was flying over a house where a known drug lord used to live.
SANCHEZ: Right.
ROMO: Like, there have been operations there.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
ROMO: So, you know, it doesn't sound like...
SANCHEZ: It's a good it's a good -- it's a good thing they didn't act on that house.
ROMO: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Could you imagine...
ROMO: Not an invasion of American...
SANCHEZ: ... them firing...
ROMO: ... of the United States, per se, but it sounds more like a drug operation to me.
SANCHEZ: Well, let us know what you find out about this thing. It sounds really interesting. And I -- and if I lived in that community, I will just be honest with you, I would be upset.
ROMO: Scary.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
ROMO: Yes.
SANCHEZ: You would have a right to be upset about something like this.
SANCHEZ: Thanks, Rafael.
ROMO: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Appreciate it. All right, Harry Reid's wife and daughter are sent to the hospital after a horrible traffic accident. His wife had a broken back, according to reports, and the daughter was treated and release, but injured as well. We're going to take you through this story.
Also, a woman is under water for 30 minutes in her SUV. And there are so many questions as to why she didn't get out on the way down. Why didn't she open the window? I'm going to take you through my own underwater experience as well to show you how I barely got out alive.
That's it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CALLER: Hey, Rick. This is Chris from Virginia.
I just wanted to make a comment on unemployment. What happened was these companies laid off all their middle managers and went to $8-, $9-, $10-an hour kids to fill these positions. So, these guys are underqualified for specialized fields and overqualified for Wal-Mart and the other companies that are hiring.
So, basically, what we're dealing with is not guys that would rather stay on unemployment. But there are no middle management jobs available.
Hope that helps. Thanks.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.
We got a couple tweets I want to share with you. You know that we tend to follow a lot folks who are important, relevant, noteworthy, newsworthy, use whatever word you want. Harry Reid is among those. And he is tweeting about, well, what happened to his wife and his daughter last night. He wants to thank "everyone who has reached out with kind words today. Our family is grateful for your support and prayers."
Both were involved in a very serious car accident. His wife, apparently, had some pretty serious fractures to her back. The daughter, apparently, was scratched up as well, but she was released from the hospital. We will stay on top of that.
Meanwhile, let me bring you up to date on what's going on now with Senator Harry Reid. We understand -- I have just been given some new information -- that they're still hospitalized, the wife, Landra Reid, had a broken nose and a broken neck, daughter Lana released last night.
And here's what happened during the accident. A tractor-trailer rig rear-ended their minivan near Fairfax Thursday afternoon. The van was pushed into a car in front of them. Senator Reid then went to the hospital, then returned to Capitol Hill after he had met with his wife and his daughter, so he could work on the health care legislation that we have been talking about throughout the rest of the day.
Of course, one of the big stories we're getting now is Tiger Woods, as more details come in as to whether or not there was any kind of potential shenanigans or cover-up, which is what I'm sure a lot of folks are going to be asking in this case. I will let you know.
Meanwhile, Sonny and Cher's little girl all grown up -- her story from childhood to manhood, that's next on the LIST.
And how does the coverage of Ben Roethlisberger coverage compare to the coverage of, let's say, Michael Vick? Is this a black and white issue? I'm going to talk about this in just a little bit with a sportswriter who is convinced that Big Ben is getting a pass because of his skin color.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: OK.
We have been able to hook up with our correspondent who's covered this story extensively, Susan Candiotti, and she's joining us now.
Susan, as I read this Freedom of Information Act request which "The Orlando Sentinel" has now put out information on, it seems like there are pieces of information here which conflict with what we originally believed this case to be, certainly around the time this case kind of was -- was all but dropped, and some of these questions were dropped.
I don't know quite where to start here, but I'm struck by the fact that police were very diligent about trying to get information about whether there was the possibility that Tiger Woods was either on drugs or had been under the influence of alcohol, and every time, at every turn, they were denied.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That is something that we have been trying to find out since the very beginning, when some of these documents initially came out, not these latest documents, that -- but ones that we have uncovered along the way.
And you're right, Rick. From the very beginning, the police were trying to find out -- the Florida Highway Patrol, specifically -- exactly what went on. You're right. So, they -- they tried to talk to Tiger. That didn't work on -- on at least three different occasions. They went to the hospital and tried to get his medical records, but, first, they were -- according to the "Orlando Sentinel" public records request that came out, apparently, they were turned away, needed to get a subpoena.
But we all remember at the time, we learned that the state attorney's office said insufficient evidence and did not allow the Florida Highway Patrol to pursue the matter further.
But I think the new information here is what's contained in that report from the troopers on the scene, that issue -- there was that comment about the possibility of domestic violence. That has not been raised before, to the best of our knowledge, in -- by anyone in law enforcement.
We knew that they were looking into all aspects of what happened there, but this is the first reference, written reference, to anything like that.
SANCHEZ: Yes, in other words, she...
CANDIOTTI: We also want to make clear...
SANCHEZ: Go...
CANDIOTTI: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Go ahead.
CANDIOTTI: Go ahead.
SANCHEZ: Well, I was just going to read to the viewers...
CANDIOTTI: Well...
SANCHEZ: ... what you were talking about, in case they're just catching up with us. A lot of the folks are just now getting home from work.
And what Susan is alluding to is this report that says that she also tried to ride in the ambulance. She wanted to go to the hospital with her husband, but the ambulance crew essentially said they wouldn't let her because they thought this was a case of domestic violence, specifically domestic violence.
That -- that's according to the Florida Highway Patrol, incidentally. That -- that is -- is new information, isn't it?
CANDIOTTI: And -- yes, and thanks for clarifying that, that that would have come from a comment made to the Florida Highway Patrol by a paramedic, according to this paperwork.
SANCHEZ: Mm-hmm.
CANDIOTTI: We knew that night from our -- our reporting on this that she did want to get into the ambulance, but was unable to.
So, now we have more information, more specifics as to what happened. But we do remember, from that night and from the documents that were released early on, that Tiger Woods' wife, Elin, did tell the authorities that he was on some different medications. And we looked into those and those types of medications. And some were, indeed, for pain.
Remember that, when the neighbor came out and made the 91 call, he described that Tiger Woods, when he saw him lying in the street there at the end of his driveway, that he was snoring. And that struck us at the time as a bit unusual. SANCHEZ: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Yes, I would say.
CANDIOTTI: Well, now we -- the -- the additional -- yes.
So, the additional information we're finding out from this public records request, according to "The Orlando Sentinel" as well, that Elin went into the house and presented them with some bottles of pills as well.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
CANDIOTTI: You know, I have some sense that we knew somewhat of that, some of that information at the time.
SANCHEZ: I'm just interested. I mean, given all of that, given the fact that he was on the floor snoring after an accident, given the fact that his wife said that he may have been taking these pills, and given the determination on the part of the FHP to get subpoena to check his blood for the use of medication or alcohol or whatever, I mean, it -- it almost seems, if that had been you or me or any other person out there, that the DA, this Steven Foster fellow, would probably have obliged, wouldn't he have?
CANDIOTTI: Well, that's what we all have been wondering for quite some time, you know? And we have been asking and try to find -- get more information about that.
But the state attorney's office has simply said all along this is what our finding was and this is -- this is what it is. But I think, Rick, we need to come back to that comment about the possibility of domestic violence by someone on an ambulance crew.
We don't know what prompted them to say that, according to this report, and we do want to remind people what we heard that night, that Mrs. Woods said that, when she came out after the accident -- this is what she said, was that she couldn't get him out of the car, and so she took a golf club and she bashed out the back windows of the car.
And that is what her public statement has said. And we also want to remind you that, when Tiger Woods made his statement a few weeks ago, his public apology, that he said: My wife is the one to be praised here. My wife has never hurt me.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
CANDIOTTI: And he made that perfectly clear.
But the bottom line is, we still don't know exactly what happened that night. And if Tiger Woods and his wife are not going to talk about it, we may never know exactly what happened that night from the two people who certainly know the most about it. SANCHEZ: Right, because there are two suggestions here, and certainly two possibilities. I mean, let's just be as frank with our viewers as we possibly can, the possibility that, A., she was barefoot in her driveway with a nine-iron or whatever club she was using because she wanted to break him out of the car because she couldn't find another way to get him out of the car, or, B., which seems to be the supposition coming from this ambulance fellow, this paramedic, that maybe she had a nine-iron in her hands and had hit the car because she was angry at Tiger.
And -- and that's, obviously -- I mean, look, you had to be there, you have to be her or you have to be him to actually know the -- the answer to that question, don't you?
CANDIOTTI: True. You do.
(LAUGHTER)
CANDIOTTI: And what we also know is that the Florida Highway Patrol has said repeatedly, this case is closed, as far as they're concerned.
SANCHEZ: Wow.
CANDIOTTI: They're not going to go any further with this.
SANCHEZ: All right. Well, there's the Freedom of Information Act information that we're sharing with you now.
Thanks, Susan, for getting back with us on this. And thanks for the phone calls. If you get anything else, let us know.
Meanwhile, a lot of folks are tweeting on this Tiger situation that's been developing over the last 19 minutes or so, since we first started this newscast.
Here's Alan Shipnuck. Now, Alan is a golf writer. And he says: "Tiger could still have a monster summer, with Pebble" -- Pebble Beach, of course -- "and Saint Andrews looming, but nothing Tiger's done has been predictable or rational," which leads us to another athlete in the news. That would be Ben Roethlisberger and the story we're going to be telling you about him coming up in just a little bit.
Millions of us also watched this. We watched her on "The Sonny & Cher Show" in the 1970s. She was the cutest little girl. But times have changed now. And Chastity Bono has become Chaz Bono. I want to take you now from her childhood through to his manhood.
The reporter in the story is Gary Tuchman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Today, his name is Chaz Bono, but back then she was Chastity Bono -- not just her parent's sweetheart, but an American sweetheart.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE SONNY AND CHER SHOW")
SONNY BONO AND CHER, ENTERTAINERS (singing): Babe, I got you babe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: "The Sonny and Cher Show" was a hit for years. Their daughter's appearances weren't just cute. They were often funny.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE SONNY AND CHER SHOW")
S. BONO: Now, you can be a good little angel...
(LAUGHTER)
S. BONO: ... or you can be a naughty little devil. Now, don't...
CHASTITY BONO, DAUGHTER OF CHER AND SONNY BONO: I want to be a naughty...
(LAUGHTER)
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE FLEEMAN, WEST COAST EDITOR, PEOPLE. COM: When you saw little Chastity on "The Sonny and Cher Show," she was the model of cuteness. Here's this towheaded little blonde, chubby-cheeked girl brought on stage. Mom and dad are singing, the model of sort of the happy showbiz family.
TUCHMAN: But, as the years went by, Chastity Bono went through personal turmoil. At the age of 18, she told her parents was a lesbian.
Her mom, who has always been very popular with gay audiences, surprisingly to many, took the news very poorly. But Cher ultimately appeared on the cover of a gay and lesbian magazine called "The Advocate," declaring she was the proud mother of a lesbian daughter.
The situation with Sonny Bono was complicated. He became a Republican congressman from California, and, in 1998, died in a skiing accident. His daughter was at his funeral.
FLEEMAN: At the time that Sonny died in the ski accident, Chaz, then Chastity, was estranged from him. Their differences were political, not personal. It was because of Sonny's stance on certain gay issues.
But, ironically, Sonny seemed to be much more comfortable with Chastity when she came out, seemed to, on a personal level, be able to be much more accepting of it than Cher was.
TUCHMAN: Over the years she sang and wrote music for a rock band called Ceremony. She has also written two books. And then, in 2009, she began the process of gender transition. FLEEMAN: Chaz has given very little specific information about the actual procedure. We know that he's had a mastectomy. We know that he's been taking the proper hormones, know that he had a hysterectomy for unrelated reasons in the past, know that he's living completely as a man, know that he started shaving for the first time.
TUCHMAN: Chaz Bono says he now feels happiness and a sense of peace, his life evolving over the years far more dramatically than most.
Gary Tuchman, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: There's no question, as we watch this, that this is a fascinating story. It's a world that most of us don't understand or know anything about. So, we're not done with this. When we come back, we will delve further -- Chaz today.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
C. BONO: I know that I am, you know, so much happier, more confident. I don't know. You know, I mean, my life just feels right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Yes. Chaz sat down with my friend Anderson Cooper last night. And I want you to hear how he describes to Anderson this radical physical -- physical -- and personal life change for him. This is -- this is interesting stuff.
Also, this could happen to any driver. One minute, he's on the road, the next underwater. But we're going to tell you one woman's unbelievable survival story, which goes against all the odds, at least the ones that I have learned, personally, about this. I'm going to show you how to get out alive.
Stay right there. We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back to the world headquarters of CNN here in downtown beautiful Atlanta. I'm Rick Sanchez.
Back now to number one on our curious story of the day list. Before the break, we showed you Chastity Bono's life before she decided to become a man.
Chaz spoke with my colleague Anderson Cooper last night, talked about why she had known for most of her life that she was -- her words here -- in the wrong body.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "ANDERSON COOPER 360")
COOPER: What is the feeling once you have had that surgery, beyond the, you know, medical pain that might occur in recovery time and stuff like that? I mean, is it a feeling of, I'm this much closer to what I should be?
C. BONO: No, it's just a feeling of rightness. I mean, my breasts from the time that they grew never felt like they were supposed to be on my body. So it's just a matter of looking in the mirror now and seeing a body reflected back at me that matches how I have always felt inside.
COOPER: That's got to be extraordinarily -- an extraordinarily sense of -- I don't know if dislocation is the right word, but to feel like, you know, "These breasts are not part of who I am. This is not -- these should not be here." Or seeing things in a way that is not the way, you know, other girls see things.
I mean, can you kind of walk us through, what is that -- what is that like?
C. BONO: You know, I think it takes a lot of imagination and, you know, what I would say is try to imagine if you woke up tomorrow feeling exactly like you do, but your body was female. How would that feel to you? And that's, you know, basically how I felt, you know, from the time of puberty on.
I lived a lot of my life in my head. I wasn't very connected to my body. I didn't take great care of my body, and I was never happy when I looked in the mirror.
COOPER: You were never happy when you looked in the mirror?
C. BONO: No, never.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: By the way, as we move forward, we like to collect information from you -- from you here, I should say -- and from you as well.
And, as we do that, we check with lists that we have put together from folks who are relevant, folks who are newsworthy.
Look at this one. Health Reform Now, we have been watching them. They say this -- interesting fact -- fact of the day, last year, every hour 625 people lost their health insurance in America. Six hundred and twenty-five people lost their health insurance -- interesting fact. All right.
This weekend, CNN is going to bring you the story of another person, by the way, who made the decision to switch genders. "Her Name Was Steven," now, this tells the story of a successful public official in Florida who struggled with a private secret about his identity.
We take you through her entire situation. "Her Name Was Steven," catch it Saturday and Sunday night at 8:00 Eastern.
All right, no question now that Ben Roethlisberger's in trouble, and that he's being accused of sexual assault for the second time in a year. Why are some sportswriters saying that he's getting a pass with the press because he is white?
We're not afraid to tackle this. I'm reading your tweets, and there are tons of them on this issue. So, let's have a clear and open conversation about what those sportswriters are saying by having one of them here on this show. He's coming up in just a little bit.
Stay right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: (In progress) -- saying that he's getting a pass with the press because he is white? We're not afraid to tackle this. I'm reading your Tweets, and there are tons of them on this issue. So let's have a clear and open conversation about what those sportswriters are saying by having one of them here on this show. He's coming up in just a little bit. Stay right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. Time now for another LIST.
He has a famous name, a white house name, and whether his father's legacy will help him or hurt him, is why he tops our list today of the most intriguing person in the news.
He says he's tired of yelling at the TV, so he's throwing his hat in the political ring. He's a lawyer. He's only 33 years old and he's got that name. But honestly, we don't know much more about him. When an eight-term congressman from Arizona announced he's not seeking re- election, our most intriguing today joins seven other Republicans in that state's primary. You probably don't know his face. He has his dad's smile, and, yes, his name-here is the son of former Vice President, Dan Quayle. He is Ben Quayle, the candidate for U.S. Congress in the state of Arizona. Surprising most political insiders. Will the Quayle name weigh him down or boost him? We'll watch. We'll wait. We'll see. We'll report. Ben Quayle, one of today's most intriguing persons in the news.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seat belt first. Lock, roll the window. Start climbing out.
SANCHEZ: Got it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: That's the right way to get out of a car if you're trapped underwater. I took the course so I'd know, but I also know that we're now getting a story in from a woman who actually fell underwater and stayed there for 30 minutes, and they were able to pull her out alive. I'll share it with you. I'll take you through both.
Then speaking of driving, we're going to show you what happened when a customer didn't get it -well, her way at a Burger King.
THE LIST scrolls on. I'm Rick Sanchez. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Now to the story many of you have been pushing us to do. I appreciate that. I appreciate that when you guys make suggestions and you're talking about something. I've seen it on Twitter. I've seen it on e-mails. I went home last night and I started reading blogs. I found seven blogs from people suggesting that you were uncomfortable with the Ben Roethlisberger story. And many of them from good writers, I mean, professional writers who write about sports every day.
Ben Roethlisberger isn't the first athlete to get caught in a scandal like this. He is getting -- is he getting, I should ask, the same scrutiny as former Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and Kobe Bryant, for example? Tiger Woods, even who we're talking about today. As I just mentioned, I've been reading a lot of prominent sports reporters out there. Their material seems to indicate they are very upset at how the mainstream media is covering this story. Are we being fair?
Up next, we're going to take this up with one writer. There he is. We're going to ask him why he claims that it's really a black-and- white issue in this case. Why the fact that Ben Roethlisberger's skin color is white, is aiding him in this story so far. That's the question. About 60 seconds or so, we'll come back and we'll have the conversation. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. Here we go.
On THE LSIT, of "it's all in the timing" I want you to take a look first of all at this picture. Take a good look at this picture. This is a picture of Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback Ben Roethlisberger posing with a police officer in Milledgeville, Georgia, before he was accused of sexually assaulting a 20-year-old girl.
Why is this so interesting? Guess what. That's just not any police officer. That's the police officer who was the first to respond to the scene and now questions are being raised about the lack of detail in his report. There he is taking pictures with the NFL superstar and then he was called to investigate the NFL superstar, that same night. For starters, his police report didn't even name Roethlisberger. That's one of the questions that's being asked.
Meanwhile it sounds like Roethlisberger's employers are getting fed up with Roethlisberger's string of problems. Most of them brought on, by the way, by his own actions. Nfl.com is now saying the Rooney family- by the way, the Rooney family is long respected in Pennsylvania, that they are embarrassed. And one team source is now saying, quote, I've never seen the Rooneys this upset.
So the investigation is also now calling Roethlisberger's judgment into question. In today's "Washington Post," Howard Kurtz-who also, as you know, has a weekend show here on CNN-he writes, "Is this another Kobe situation? Does he like Tiger feel entitled to do whatever he wants, to play by a different set of rules?"
Dexter Rogers is a sportswriter for Examiner.com. He is one of the folks I was referring to, one of many who are writing about this, by the way. He writes in his column about why the media is barely covering the Roethlisberger stories compared to the way it covers cases involving other black athletes. Like, you know, the Atlanta Falcon's quarterback, and Los Angeles' Kobe Bryant, for example. And maybe Tiger Woods for example.
I'm not going to put words in your mouth, Mr. Rogers, but I want to thank you for being with us, Sir.
DEXTER ROGERS, SPORTS WRITER, EXAMINER.COM: Thank you for having me.
SANCHEZ: Make your case to our viewers.
ROGERS: Well, essentially I think Ben Roethlisberger is getting the pass primarily because of the media structure and because of race.
SANCHEZ: Wait, let me just stop you on media structure. What does that mean?
ROGERS: Well, let me break it down for you. Media structure is, I'm a sports columnist.
SANCHEZ: Yes?
ROGERS: And 89.7 percent of the sports columnists in this country are white.
SANCHEZ: Are you sure about that?
ROGERS: Yes, I'm positive.
SANCHEZ: You're talking about local sports casters, for example?
ROGERS: I'm talking nationally.
SANCHEZ: Nationally, OK, so you're talking about ESPN guys?
ROGERS: Yes, everyone.
SANCHEZ: All right.
ROGERS: So you have a situation where you have the NFL, who the vast majority are the players, composed of African-American players, and the same thing in the NBA. So, you have a lot of white writers writing about people who largely they do not understand. So they are left to write stories based on assumptions and opinions, and theories and stereotypes.
So now you have a situation, you have a Super Bowl-winning quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger, has won two titles. He's a young man, he's 28 years old. He feels a sense of entitlement and also coupled with his complexion and the position that he plays in the NFL, he feels like he's entitled to do things most of us are not able to do.
SANCHEZ: Most sportscasters, whether they write for a living, or speak for a living, have used terms like reckless, immature, to describe Ben Roethlisberger. Have you not heard that?
ROGERS: Yes. I have heard that, but what we're really primarily focusing on is the coverage of his activity.
SANCHEZ: How's it different?
ROGERS: It's different because let's go to the Kobe Bryant situation. He was accused of raping a young lady in 2003. That turned out to be false. If you go back into the archives and look at the level of coverage that he received coming in and out of the courtroom, going in, going out, playing games, you know, it was at a very high level.
SANCHEZ: Well, let me just stop you here. In this case most people would say the reason we're not giving full-blown coverage yet to this case is because he hasn't been charged with anything yet. And right now there's two sides to this story and we don't know which side to go with so we'll just kind of go down the middle, cover it as much as we can, but not go hog wild with it. Is that not fair?
ROGERS: Well, it's fair and it sounds great, but those are not the facts. Before Kobe was charged he received a high level of coverage, before he was charged with anything. More recently with the Michael Vick situation and his dealings with the dogs, yes, he made very stupid decisions, in terms of what he did, but the media coverage was outlandish.
You want to go Ray Lewis back in 2000, the same thing. He was accused of a double murder. Look at the level of media coverage that he received and the persistent nature of it. Now you have a situation where you have a marquee white athlete in the NFL who plays the glamour position of quarterback in the NFL, and he is getting a pass.
SANCHEZ: Let me ask you one final thing to put this in perspective. By the way, you raise your arguments very well and you defend your point very well. Why do you need to be any specific skin color to be able to tell a story about a person from that skin color? Describe that to our audience.
ROGERS: Well, here's what it boils down to, sir. It boils down to a level of diversity. What I'm going to use for prototypical example is, you remember about eight or nine months ago the "New York Post" ran a caricature of President Obama --
SANCHEZ: Yeah, the chimpanzee thing.
ROGERS: Chimpanzee and the gorilla. OK? And the police officer shooting the gorilla. Well, quite obviously that was a racist situation. Two things pop out to mind. Where were the African- American writers in that situation? And also, all writers in general, because that was clearly racist. Here's where diversity comes --
SANCHEZ: There was one in the newsroom who actually stood up and had a disagreement about it, right?
ROGERS: But here's what I'm saying. Let me finish my point, please.
SANCHEZ: Please.
ROGERS: If there was more party-let's just say, for instance, I was on that editorial board, or I was working the same department as the individual, who put this caricature together about the president of the United States who's African-American. Two things would have happened. That piece wouldn't have ran or I would have been fired, or both. OK? In some situations --
SANCHEZ: I get it.
ROGERS: Some situations you have to take a stand against things that are unjust in order to make a point for people to benefit later on. I submit this example to you. Kurt Flood, he sacrificed his whole career.
SANCHEZ: Yes, he did.
ROGERS: He's a hall of fame player.
SANCHEZ: He's the reason we had free agency.
ROGERS: Exactly. You have all these multimillionaire athletes making this money today, and they don't appreciate the legacy and the blood and sweat of the pioneers. Both African-American and white --
SANCHEZ: Dexter Rogers, we're out of time. But you know what? As I mentioned earlier, I'm glad we had you on. I'm glad we had a chance to discuss your point of view and you're sharing a perspectives that been shared by, as I said moments ago, with many people not just on the blogs, but on my e-mail. People inside and outside CNN and certainly it's been a busy day on Twitter as well.
ROGERS: Yes.
SANCHEZ: My thanks to you once again. Thanks for being with us. Hopefully we'll be able to catch up again. We'll be right back.
ROGERS: Thank you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: On the recovery LIST we just got an update on Senator Harry Reid's wife. She was seriously hurt in a car accident yesterday. Her surgeon says she's doing very well and is in good spirits now after surgery on her neck, which was broken. Her nose and her back were also broken. Senator Reid was at the hospital throughout the surgery, according to his spokesperson, who also read a brief statement from the senator.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON SUMMERS, SEN. REID'S SPOKESMAN: Senator Reid also asked me to read a statement from him to all of you. It says, "The tremendous concern and support for Landra and Lana from people across Nevada and across the nation has deeply touched our entire family. We greatly appreciate your thoughts during this difficult time. Landra and I have been married for 50 years. She is the love of my life. And I look forward to her making a full recovery as quickly as possible." Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Senator Reid left the hospital last night to work on health care legislation on Capitol Hill, but returned and stayed with his wife until we understand, around midnight.
On THE LIST, news from the White House. President Obama's delaying his overseas trip next week because of the last-minute push on health care. But that didn't keep a little fun from starting off at the White House briefing today. Wolf Blitzer is with us now.
Wolf, you've worn a hockey jersey a time or two.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, THE SITUATION ROOM: I grew up in Buffalo. The Buffalo Sabers, of course, a deep part of all of our lives, those of us from western New York.
SANCHEZ: Here you've got Press Secretary Robert Gibbs coming out paying off a debt. He's wearing Canadian counterpart's shirt, and he models that for us. Then all of a sudden he takes it off and reveals underneath he's wearing the tried and true USA, USA, right?
BLITZER: It was a great game. Everybody watched it. It was a fabulous game and congratulations to team Canada. What can you say?
SANCHEZ: This is, you know, he was tussling us as to whether or not he should wear the shirt, right?
BLITZER: He had made a bet with his Canadian counterpart that if the U.S. team lost he would wear that Canadian jersey to his press briefing, and he lived up to the bet today.
SANCHEZ: Hey, what do you make of what's going on today as far as health care is concerned? I kept hearing a lot of animated Democrats, seeming to hint, if not say, that there's a lot of many momentum going their way.
BLITZER: They're trying to get everyone onboard. It's not a done deal by any means yet and there are still a lot of questions. That's why the president delayed his departure. He was supposed to leave on Thursday. Now he's not going to leave until Sunday, the trip to Indonesia and Guam and Australia. It's a big issue, but, look, he spent more than a year now trying to get health care reform. If it means a few more days, that's obviously in the scheme of things not going to be a big deal.
SANCHEZ: Yes, certainly understandable. And my thanks to you, Wolf, we'll be looking forward to it. I probably won't see you until Monday. Have a fantastic weekend and great couple hours today in "THE SITUATION ROOM"
BLITZER: My pleasure. Thank you.
SANCHEZ: On THE LIST of close calls, look at the video of a car being hoisted out of the water. This is in Long Beach, California, yesterday. A woman is in an SUV, it plunges off of Shoemaker Bridge into the Los Angeles River. It plunges about 30 feet into some deep and really deep water. It sinks. Emergency crews respond. By the time the divers got to the car it had been submerged for about 30 minutes. The driver was still alive. She is in the hospital, in critical condition. How did she possibly survive?
Well, I know a thing or two about surviving in a sinking car. Here, now, is how I was taught to do it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ (voice over): What you're looking at is a view from inside a car that has just gone below the surface of a canal. It is a terrifying image that each year for hundreds of motorists becomes their last.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Miami-Dade County, police and fire, where is the emergency?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, I just got into an accident. I went through the railing and I'm sinking in the water.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you out of your vehicle?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, not yet.
SANCHEZ: The 911 call you are hearing was dialed by a woman from inside this car as it was sinking. She was driving on the Florida turnpike. It was 2001.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my god. My car is sinking.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you get out of the vehicle?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I can't. If I do all the water is going to come in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, well, ma'am, but can you open a window or door to get out of the vehicle? What's the last exit?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Water is going to come in.
SANCHEZ: The woman did not know it and the operator did not seem to be able to convey it, but experts say opening the window is exactly what she should have done.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, we're getting help out. Just stay on the line with me, Karla.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But my car's sinking. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Karla, you can't open a window, or get out?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I can't. I can't. My car is sinking.
SANCHEZ: Karla Gutierrez drowned. Her body was recovered the following morning. Tire tracks visible only by the light of day, finally led police to her location. At the time 911 operators did not have specific instructions to tell motorists how to get out of a sinking car. Today, in part because of Karla's story, Miami police, and many other departments across the country do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Officer Wiggins has the final call on whatever's going on.
SANCHEZ: It's a Saturday morning on the banks of one of the thousands of waterways that crisscross the state of Florida. Miami police who now do extensive training on submerged vehicle safety have agreed to demonstrate how to get out alive. It's a daunting lesson that I'm about to receive, but one these police officials are convinced can save lives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we need to extract Mr. Sanchez, and we'll take them, we'll take him to fire rescue in the event he needs any medical attention.
SANCHEZ (On camera): This is one of those stories that really makes you fight your demons. My father always told me, if you're scared, just say you're scared. Guess what, folks? I'm a little scared. First thing I'm going to do is get together with some of these dive masters and understand exactly what I'm supposed to do. Because once you're down there underwater it's going to be a little too late.
JULIUS WIGGINS, MAIMI POLICE DIVEMASTER: As soon as the car hits the water, you have the seat belt on, you want to get rid of the seat belt as soon as possible.
SANCHEZ (on camera): OK.
(voice over): To say that Miami Police Officer Julius Wiggins, who is also a dive master, is passionate about teaching people how to get out of a sinking car, would be an understatement. His goal, to reach as many people with what he calls the basics.
WIGGINS: Seat belt first.
SANCHEZ (On camera): OK.
WIGGINS: Then unlock the car door.
SANCHEZ: Right.
WIGGINS: OK? Then roll down the window.
SANCHEZ: OK.
WIGGINS: Then start climbing out. Then what you're going to do is you are going to work your way out here, quick like this. Once you're sitting here all you have to do is just push yourself off.
SANCHEZ (voice over): If ever there's been an appropriate use of the term "dry run," this is it.
WIGGINS: Going in the water. Seat belt first, lock. Roll the window. Start climbing out.
SANCHEZ (on camera): Got it.
(voice over): And now the real thing. The car plunges into the canal head first, then bobs back, allowing enough time to put the basic plan into action. With me inside the car, photographer Rich Brookes, who is a certified diver. From his pictures you can see I'm working fast to take advantage of what is a perfect scenario. The car has leveled out. Giving me time to open the window and get out before it sinks.
However, on my second attempt, the car turns slightly. Forcing the water in faster, slowing my exit. With the seat belt off, the lock undone, the window rolled down, I take a final breath and climb out.
My third attempt takes a bit longer, but I'm realizing window exits seem most effective. Whether it's a roll-down or electric, it doesn't matter as long as you don't remove the keys from the ignition. Remember, even underwater your battery will continue to operate the windows.
What happens, though, if the window is stuck or for some reason simply isn't working? This window is being shattered. Under water using a tool called a power punch that motorists are urged to buy and keep in their glove box.
Now, the last dive, an attempt to get out through the door. From inside the vehicle you can see how it looks when I leave the window rolled up. The water is now seeping in from elsewhere and quickly filling the cabin. I try to push on the door, but it seems jammed.
Outside the car divers are also trying to un-jam the door to let me out but are unable to do so. Admittedly, it's a chilling moment. I grab for the emergency air supply left in the front seat. Rush it to my mouth and wait nervously-
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pull up, pull up.
SANCHEZ: -for the car to be hoisted out of the water. With me still inside, breathing, waiting and with a much better understanding now of how important it is to know the basics. How to act fast, and how to get out alive.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: So there you have it. A punctuation on a story that came out of Long Beach.
As we leave you I want to remind you of one of the big stories we've been following. It happened as we were on the air earlier today, having to do with Tiger Woods; information now, according to the Freedom of Information Act from a newspaper in Orlando. In fact, it's the "Orlando Sentinel" which is pretty much the newspaper of record there, that police made several attempts to try and get more information about Tiger Woods after his wife said that he had taken several pills. She went into the house and got a couple vials that she said were full of pills.
Also for the first time we learn that the crew, the ambulance crew that was there, told the highway patrol that they suspected that this was a case of domestic violence. Something we pointed out, our own Susan Candiotti did, this is the first time she's heard of an official comment.
That's if for us. Have a great weekend everybody. We'll see you on RICK'S LIST Monday. Meanwhile, here now is Wolf Blitzer, in THE SITUATION ROOM.
