Paper suspends columnist

Paper suspends columnist
Ex-News writer Whitlock allegedly taunted Patriots fans at football game.
FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Jason Whitlock, a sports columnist for The Kansas City Star and a former Ann Arbor News columnist, has been suspended pending an investigation into allegations he heckled fans during the Kansas City-New England NFL game on Oct. 11.
"The disciplinary action will extend at least through the Chiefs' game against Pittsburgh on Monday night. Further consequences remain possible,” Rick Vacek, the Star's assistant managing editor for sports, said in a statement written for today's editions.
"Jason's actions ... violated one of the cardinal rules of journalism - don't become part of the story - and a credo of sportswriting: Never react to the taunts of fans. But, most important, what he did was offensive and unprofessional."
Whitlock's column on the game, which made no mention of the incident, appeared the next day. His column has not appeared since.
KMBC-TV in Kansas City reported that Whitlock would no longer be doing weekly commentaries until the matter was resolved.
Eyewitnesses said Patriots fans seated just outside the enclosed pressbox began taunting the visiting media during the game and Whitlock responded by holding up handwritten signs, at least one of which insulted quarterback Drew Bledsoe and the team, according to Sports Illustrated
After fans became agitated, stadium security guards entered the press box and stopped Whitlock.
The Star said its managers have apologized to the Patriots, and that the NFL did not plan any action beyond that imposed by the paper.
Whitlock, whose aggressive style has attracted a wide readership since he joined the newspaper in 1994 after leaving the Ann Arbor News, couldn't be reached for comment by The Associated Press.
The Star said Whitlock had expressed remorse and had apologized to the Patriots.
"I represent Kansas City at all times, not just The Star, and anything I do that sheds a bad light on the city is something I take very seriously,” Whitlock was quoted as saying. "I regret it if anything I do reflects poorly on this city that I have come to call home.”