No Unprofessional Tweet From ABC News About Marion Barber’s Cause of Death
Back in June, Dallas Cowboys fans learned the sad news that fan favorite running back Marion Barber III had passed away. ABC News put out a tweet giving the news while also taking a dig at the running back's career which rightfully drew a ton of backlash. Tuesday, July 12, we learned the cause of Barber's death. This time with no disrespectful and unprofessional tweet from the news organization.
The Collin County medical examiner ruled that Marion Barber III had died of heat stroke. He was found unresponsive in his Frisco apartment on June 1 by police making a welfare check. No other details were released other than the cause of death.
Barber's Time with the Dallas Cowboys
For Dallas Cowboys fans like myself, this was very sad news. Barber was a fan favorite player during his time with the Cowboys from 2005 until 2010. During his time in Dallas, he carried the ball 1042 times for 4,358 yards and scored 47 touchdowns as he and Julius Jones created a "lightning and thunder" backfield for the Cowboys.
I felt sorry for any defense that was going up against Marion Barber. He had no problem plowing through a tackler or pushing his way through a goal line pile to score a touchdown. Barber closed out his career with the Chicago Bears. Unfortunately, Barber did suffer from some mental health issues following his retirement from the NFL in 2012.
Disrespectful Tweet
What made some fans rightfully angry following the announcement of Barber's death was how unprofessional ABC News was in reporting his death. While the news organization did report that he had died, they also took a moment to make an unnecessary dig at his career. The tweet has since been deleted but this was the text from that tweet:
JUST IN: Marion Barber III, the former Dallas Cowboys running back who scored plenty of touchdowns without recording a 1,000-yard season, has died, the team said Wednesday. He was 38.
I think ABC News learned their lesson and put out this tweet following the release of his cause of death.
This is why I don't watch the news anymore. There is no longer a sense of journalism, just a short sentence stating a fact followed by a bunch of nonsense conjecture. Its sad.