Iker Casillass Girlfriend Sara Carbonero and Real Madrids Dressing Room Scandal - Assignment Example

Is it Ethical for Sara Carbonero to leak information from the dressing room of Real Madrid? Introduction The case under discussion is about Iker Casillas, who is captain of one of the biggest Spanish soccer teams, “Real Madrid”, and his girlfriend Sara Carbonero, who has been performing the duties of a sport’s journalist with a Spanish newspaper named “Marca”, which also collaborates with the Televisa station present in Mexico. The two have been in a close relationship and therefore Iker usually briefed Sara on different happenings about the team. Iker revealed much of the team’s information to Sara, which she reported to her channel. This helped her to grab the attention of the viewers as well as the readers but it definitely had a negative impact on the career of Iker. According to the management team, what Iker did was unethical and therefore it made him sit on the bench for almost half of the season as the result of which the performance of “Real Madrid” suffered. This paper discusses the question of, is it Ethical for Sara Carbonero to leak information from the dressing room of Real Madrid? The paper also discusses the details of the case, analyzing the ethical side of it and shedding light on how the parties associated with the case have actually been affected by it [Pet13]. The Role of Media The Media in this situation played a very critical role. Sara Carbonero and Iker Casillas were accused several times for leaking the information from the team’s locker room to the media that Sara worked for, but the media made the situation worse by broadcasting it and making it available for the competitors of the “Spain’s Football Team” and “Real Madrid”. The media on several occasions exposed some controversial information such as the weakened relationships between players or the views of management on the poor performance of any specific team player. Every time the media Sara worked for broadcasted any such news it created an atmosphere of distrust in the team’s dressing room, affecting the relationships of the players to some extent [Sar13]. Team players clashed because of the media issue. There have also been occasions when Iker thought about leaving the club that has been the most important part of his life. One of the sources also revealed that Iker was so close to leaving the club due to all the issues created by the media, but he changed his mind at the very last moment [Ike13]. Ethical Role of Media Audiences become informed or misinformed by many channels and so do journalists as well (Harcup, 2007). Ethical practice is important for media as it holds the power of influencing a large number of people. Although the fundamental rights of a citizen in Spain also include the right to know information, when it comes to journalists, they must use their right of expression within certain limitations. In Spain, journalists pledge to understand and maintain the ethics of the information that they are delivering to their audiences. The journalists in Spain are allowed to expose a certain piece of information while respecting the rights of the privacy of the individuals. Keeping in mind all the rights and limitations that journalists have in Spain, it makes the discussed issue much more complicated [Spa13]. Situational Analysis The pro side related to the publishing was that the audience was being updated about the information regarding their favorite team, and they can connect more easily to the personal side of the players. One of the major advantages that the media was getting was that Sara was providing the audiences with exclusive information all the way from the dressing room of Real Madrid, which was in fact an important aspect of her job. Sara was reporting some of the biggest and important news about the team, which was being appreciated by the audience. She seems to be quite loyal to her job playing her part as committed journalist. Sara was providing exclusive information which was also drastically increased the rating of the television channel she has been working for. Whereas as the con side of the information being broadcasted by the media was the destabilizing condition of the team. Another drawback of situation under discussion was quite complicated as the Captain of the National team of Spain was accused for leaking the information through his journalist partner Sara Carbonero. The disadvantage of Sara being the covering journalist for the Real Madrid matches was that she was a source of distraction for the Iker. It was because of the Sara that the role of journalist started being question. She created this dilemma which was needed to be answered in order to restore the balance in the dressing room of the Real Madrid. Sara role as a journalist was started to be criticized by the public for distracting Iker during match and destabilizing the team’s performance[Wor10]. She was starting to be exposed to questions about the standards and values of the journalism. For example the management team of the Real Madrid started accusing Sara and Iker for the team’s destabilized condition e.g. the conflict that raised between the players due to the leaked information about team’s coach Jose Mourinho resignation which seemed to be an unethical act as the information was very private and the exposition affected the relationship of team player [Sar13]. Sara on the other side did not know how to separate her professional life from her personal one. On the other side her partner Iker was being accused by his fellows and management team for leaking some private information which did affect his reputation as a captain of Real Madrid. The external factor made the situation worse by creating a conflict between the players and the manager of the team, which led to poor communication between the players and their manager inside and outside the field. That affects the results of the Real Madrid (Mourinho does not communicate with Real Madrid players, says Casillas’ girlfriend, 2013) The core values of journalism include pursing and investigating truth keeping in mind the constraints of journalism. Core standards that must be maintained by the journalists include avoiding conflicts of interest, refusal of giving special favors and they must bear the power of criticizing the powerful. One of the core values of journalism is to avoid causing unnecessary harm to the sources of the stories or its subject. Journalist should be able to justify their actions and also the stories being reported by them, especially the stories that are controversial and impose negative impact on a group or an individual [Spa13]. Parties Affected The role of media in the case being discussed was subjected to criticism by the public. Along with Iker and Sara, the other parties affected by it were “Real Madrid” and the “Spain Team”. Sara Carbonero was accused for not only broadcasting the team’s information on the international media, but she was also accused of destabilizing the team and distracting Iker during the match. The journalist on several occasions was seen filming behind Iker’s goal, which the audience as well as the team management considered a distraction for the player. In 2010 when Spain lost their first match to Switzerland, the public blamed Sara for distracting Iker before the game [Placeholder1]. Iker himself faced several indictments as he was accused of revealing some of the team’s confidential information to his partner, who later broadcasted it on local and international media. He also remained under a strict check of the management, who later on made him sit on the bench for almost half of the season. Iker’s performance was also being criticized by the public because of his journalist girlfriend as many thought that her presence in the match serves as a distraction for the goal keeper [Wor10]. In the year 2013, Iker got frustrated by all the issues being created by the media and he finally decided to leave “Real Madrid” but at the last moment something made him change his mind and he stayed. Although Iker was affected by all that was happening in his surroundings, he did not talk about it much. He did not post his reaction or views on any of the social networking sites nor did he address the issue in any of his media interviews. He just remained calm and patient. This was his way of handling the situation. The media to some extent destabilized the national football team of Spain as well as “Real Madrid”. The controversies related to the captain and his poor performance affected the environment of the team’s dressing room as players started to be more careful about the information they share with other players or Iker [Wor10]. Analyzing Whether the Case Is Ethical or Not On the one hand, one may think that Iker has all the rights to discuss with his partner Sara conversation from Real Madrid locker room because she is his partner. If he can’t talk to her then who is he supposed to talk to? Some aspects of the case can be considered ethical such as the rights of the audience to be informed about their favorite team. On the other hand, Sara Carbonero should keep that in mind that whenever she broadcasts any information on media, all the fingers without any hesitation are going to point towards her partner. She has already damaged much of Iker’s reputation by speaking about him in public, which cannot be considered ethical by any means [The131]. Sara being a journalist should learn that her personal life is different from her professional one. According to Davis (2009), “Most who work in the journalist area has looked directly at issues of control and power when journalists and sources meet and, accordingly, how such shifting relations are reflected in news outputs” (page 205). She should not use Iker as a mean of getting controversial information about the team. She should understand that being a journalist and the partner of the captain of the Spanish football team brings a lot of responsibilities. The situation of NESN reporter Jenny Dell and her boyfriend the Red Sox player Will Middlebrooks is similar to that of Sara and Iker. Dell has been dating Middlebrooks for nearly a year and a half now. The couple started making public appearance in October after Red Sox won the World Series. Jenny Dell after going in a relationship with Will Middlebrooks stopped covering the team, in order to stay away from the allegation of exploiting her boyfriend for getting the inside information of the team. Dell’s job was although not that of an investigator reporter for the team but it would more than that of writer at a newspaper. She was a pretty face girl with a large fan following counting on her to brief them about the injuries or promotions of the team players. Still she chose not to stay associated with reporting the news of the team, in order to stay away from all sorts of controversies weakening her relationship with Will. The situation of Jenny and Middlebrooks was same as Sara and Iker however the way they dealt with the situation was different i.e. Jenny chose her professional commitment over her relationship with Middlebrooks which caused a split between the couple (Finn, 2014). NESN however supported Jenny’s decision as they were quite contended to have a committed reporter like Jenny. NESC did not use Jenny’s relationship with Middlebrooks for doing cheap publicity, whereas on the other hand Marca and Televisia used Sara as a source of getting inside information about the real Madrid [The131]. Sara Carbonera’s struggle between her relationship and job In this whole dilemma Sara Carbonera plays the most critical role. She has been struggling between her relationship with Iker and her work as a journalist, facing the allegations of using her boyfriend as a source getting confidential information about the team. It was on several occasions that Iker was accused of leaking the information of the dressing room, which did affect his relationship with the other team players. Sara was also held responsible for weakening the relationship of Iker with other players, while being loyal to her job. When Ronaldo accused Iker for revealing the teams information, it really affected the relationship between two very strong players of Real Madrid [Placeholder2]. As the perks of being the girlfriend of teams captain she was getting the inside information, which made her a source of some valuable information regarding the team. Claims that Casillas leaked the dressing room information It was in the year 2012 that Ronaldo’s representative claimed that Iker Casillas has leaked the information about the unhappiness in the Real Madrid about the Portuguese international. Ronaldo expressed his concerns that may be Casillas has done some sort of partnership with his girlfriend Sara Carbonera who has been working for a news agency [Placeholder2]. Ronaldo further added that the media has taken away the privacy of the dressing room of Real Madrid. Although the digital confidential claimed that the reason behind Ronaldo’s outburst was mere sadness and nothing else. However it was because of his statement that Casillas refused to celebrate Ronaldo’s success, which affected the relationship of two main players present in the team. In the news casted by Sara Carbonera on 30th January 2013 she reported that “Right now, there is a split in the changing room and we will have to wait until the end of the season to see if Mourinho ends up going because he has many fronts open here at Real Madrid” [The131]. This news declared that the source of information for Sara was Iker himself, as the information was too confidential to be reported by anyone but Iker [Ike13]. She also reported that the players do not get along with the coach quite well. She further added that this splitting is changing the atmosphere of the dressing room and the audience has to wait till the end of season to find out that whether Mourinho ends up leaving the team. Spain’s one of the biggest sports daily Marca also reported that Casillas and Sergio Ramos have urged with the Chairman of Real Madrid to fire Mourinho before the next season. Conclusion The case presented in this topic was a pure ethical dilemma where it was difficult to decide which of the two alternatives present must be considered to be correct that whether the media should broadcast the information to the audience about their favorite football club or they should maintain the privacy of the players and of the relationship that the players share with one another. In this case it will be considered unethical if Sara Carbonero leaks any kind of information that is given to her by Iker. As a journalist she should perform her duty, but she should keep in mind that her acts may be a source of a bad name for her partner who is none other than the Captain of National Football team of Spain and Real Madrid. After analyzing the current situation of the media, it seems as if certain standards of journalism are being ignored. Like any other citizen or person journalists must also conduct themselves accord with the general ethical values such as avoiding any sort of harm to the relationship of exposed parties, serving for the general good of the public, being truthful, maintaining privacy which needed and understanding the sensitivity of situation. Journalists often fail to understand the sensitivity of information. They do not understand that the information they are telecasting of social media may result in harming the relationship of people. References Pet13: , (Segun, 2013), Sar13: , (Sara Carbonero: ‘Real Madrid’s dressing room is not in a good state right now’, 2013), Ike13: , (Balague, 2013), Spa13: , (Spain Code: Federation of the Spanish Press Code of Ethics for the Journalistic Profession, 2013), Wor10: , (Ashdown, 2010), Placeholder1: , (Hyde, 2010), Wor10: , (Ashdown, 2010), The131: , (Iker Casillas’s Girlfriend Sara Carbonero Claims Real Madrid Players Want Jose Mourinho Out, 2013), Placeholder2: , (Ronaldo believes Iker Casillas is the ‘Mole’, 2012), Read More