John Sleeper, who worked as a sports reporter and columnist for The Herald for 11 years, announced Thursday that he has resigned.
His decision comes one week after the paper apologized to readers disclosing that parts of a column he wrote on June 3 were taken from a Sports Illustrated article.
The column in question was headlined, “Trust Me, Coaching Girls is a Whole New Ballgame.” It included passages from a 2002 story written by Rick Reilly.
A reader first brought the similarities between the two pieces of writing to the attention of sports editor Kevin Brown, said Neal Pattison, The Herald’s executive editor. Brown then discussed the issue with Pattison.
Sleeper was then put on extended suspension “to give both him and me time to think,” Pattison said.
Pattison said it was Sleeper who made the decision to resign.
“People will say, ‘Gee, wasn’t he really forced to?’ ” Pattison said. “I’m not saying the outcome would have been different, but the timetable and decision to resign today really was John’s choice.”
In a telephone interview Thursday afternoon, Sleeper said he decided to resign because he could not return to work and expect to have credibility.
“Sorry doesn’t begin to describe the way I feel right now, sorry to the readers, to The Herald, to my family,” he said.
Sleeper said he had just returned from a trip out of town dealing with a family problem on the day he wrote the June 3 column. “I came back to Everett very stressed and depressed, but I needed to write a column.”
Sleeper said he should have simply begged off.
“I feel horrible about what happened,” he said. “I take full responsibility.”
Mounting, serious family problems “have brought a lot of stress in my life.”
Sleeper said he is getting professional help.
Herald publisher Allen Funk said Sleeper’s work “has been a pleasure to read. The readers who have come to enjoy his work will be disappointed not to see it anymore.”
However, plagiarism is “a very clear violation” of journalistic ethics, Funk said. “We don’t take other people’s words as our own. If we do, we provide citations and quote marks. It’s easy to understand that we’re not paying people to come up with other’s material. When they take it from someone else, it’s essentially stealing.”
Pattison agreed. “It was the act of deception that’s harmful,” he said. “The next time we tell (readers) something they don’t want to know … a lot of people will want not to believe us.
“Our bigger mission is to tell truths, even when it’s unpopular.”
Sleeper, a graduate of Western Washington University, has worked in journalism for 21 years.
He said he has been offered the chance to write a farewell column for The Herald within the next week. He plans to pursue degrees in teaching.
Reporter Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.
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