By Associated Press
Lexington, KY – The University of Kentucky banned a hometown newspaper from interviewing a highly touted basketball player because the paper hasn't publicly apologized for the way it edited a question in a published story that mentioned the violent death of the athlete's father.
UK said in a sternly worded statement Thursday that the Lexington Herald-Leader "took the liberty" of rewriting a question posed to freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist in a way that sensationalized the interview.
The rephrasing asked how Kidd-Gilchrist was affected by his father's death from multiple gunshot wounds when the player was 2 years old. The original question didn't mention the shooting. The school said the change was unfair to the player and his family.
The Herald-Leader ran a clarification that said the question was edited for space and to add context, but UK wasn't satisfied.
"Because it is our responsibility and duty to protect our student athletes and we feel an apology from the Lexington Herald-Leader was necessary, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist will no longer be available for interviews with the Herald-Leader," UK's statement said.
Asked to comment, Herald-Leader Editor and Vice President Peter Baniak said in a statement, "The Herald-Leader clarified the wording of the question in the Q and A, both in the newspaper and on the Web, and that clarification stands."
The action was the second time in recent weeks that UK has punished a publication by denying access to athletes.
In August, UK banned student reporter Aaron Smith from interviews with basketball players.
Smith was banned from an event in which select media were allowed to interview players. The university said Smith was not allowed to attend because he had broken a university policy by contacting two walk-on basketball players without going through media relations.
Smith called them to confirm they were walk-ons. When they said yes, he asked if they would be willing to talk to him. Both declined.
UK's punishment of Smith drew harsh criticism from national and regional journalism groups.
The university's spat with the Herald-Leader stems from a question-and-answer session with Kidd-Gilchrist that's part of a series with each of UK's men's basketball players. The questions dealt more with his family life than with basketball.
Kidd-Gilchrist, a 6-foot-7, 232-pound forward from Somerdale, N.J., was a McDonald's All-American in high school and is expected to be a key contributor to the Wildcats this coming season.
In the story that ran in the Herald-Leader's sports section Wednesday, the first question asked: "Your father died of multiple gunshot wounds when you were 2 years old. How did that affect you?" That version first appeared online late Tuesday afternoon.
The newspaper added the clarification to the top of the online version of the story Wednesday night and it appeared in print on page 1 of the sports section Thursday morning. The original version ran on page 3 of the sports section.
After explaining that the question was edited for space and to add context, the clarification then said: "In reference to the death of Kidd-Gilchrist's father when the player was age 2, (beat writer) Jerry Tipton said: "My father died when I was 2 years old. So that grabbed my attention. How did that affect you?"
In his answer, Kidd-Gilchrist said: "It wasn't just me. It was me and my mom. She didn't know what to do. We had my grandma, too. My uncle Darrin (Kidd) was there, too. I want to play this game for him. That's how it was."
The article went on to ask the player about his uncle's influence in his life and about his uncle's death from a heart attack the day he signed with Kentucky. Kidd-Gilchrist tried to revive him.
Kidd-Gilchrist has already drawn wide attention for his personal story and basketball skills. He will be featured in a documentary on HBO that follows his high school basketball team.
The documentary, called "Prayer for a Perfect Season," will also tell of Kidd-Gilchrist's personal struggle, losing his father at age 2 and his uncle and caretaker during his senior year of high school.
The film will debut on HBO on Oct. 25.