Andrews fights for justice over stalking scandal

Editorial Board

This editorial is a compilation from a discussion held by the editorial board.

It’s no secret that stalking, invasion of privacy and the blatant disrespect and lack of consideration of others are extremely wrong acts and yet, these sickening, undeniably horrific doings still happen to many individuals today, famous or not. One of those individuals just so happens to be sportscaster Erin Andrews.

It all started in September of 2008 when Andrews stayed at a Marriott Hotel in Nashville where she was covering a football game at Vanderbilt University. A stalker, by the name of Michael David Barrett, requested to have his hotel room right next to Andrews. Hotel staff, without consent or permission from Andrews herself, fulfilled Barrett’s request which later allowed Barrett to drill a peephole through the wall and record a video of Andrews nude. The video went viral, racking up a whopping 17 million views.

It’s now 2016, almost 10 years after the fact, and the case is still in court. While Barrett did plead guilty to three counts of interstate stalking and was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison (which he has now finished), there are still many unresolved issues. Barrett also testified on Feb. 29 that his motives for doing what he did were purely financial and he was “not proud” of his actions. If only that would fix everything. Unfortunately, it does not make up for the destruction he left in his wake–the irreparable emotional and psychological damage Andrews now suffers. Now, Andrews is suing both the hotel and Barrett for $75 million which will be considered by a jury on Friday.

Since the incident, Andrews has faced unbearable public humiliation and has become what her father Steve Andrews describes as “depressed” and a “shell” of her former self. She has been haunted by what Barrett did and not only has to go through treatment but also take extra precautions wherever she travels, checking hotel rooms meticulously to make sure there isn’t anything suspicious. Furthermore, her desire to be a role model to younger girls was wrecked by the one event she had no control over and she was heckled at games and forced by ESPN, the network she worked with at the time, to talk about a situation she didn’t want to talk about.

While this case is tragic and unfortunate, it brings to the forefront a lot of questions and issues of privacy and inequality between men and women in society. What if this exact situation had in fact happened to a man instead of a woman? Despite all the emotional trauma Andrews has endured, some still say it’s a publicity stunt and defense attorneys have said that this was not the hotel’s responsibility and couldn’t have possibly been prevented. Even worse, the defense team has stated that Andrews doesn’t have a valid excuse; that she in fact helped with the filming to further her career and gain fame. They argue that Andrews’ career has been much more successful than it was before the video scandal with her becoming a reporter on FOX News, signing multiple endorsements, being a contestant and host on Dancing With the Stars and earning a higher salary. But what these people have perhaps failed to recognize is the fact that while the incident may not have harmed the career, it seriously damaged the victim. All of this added skepticism towards Andrews has further amplified her anxiety and has done nothing good for her mental health. Would a man in this situation be treated like this in court? Would he have to fight to prove this all wasn’t a publicity stunt? That he had no motives at all?

The Mentor Editorial Board strongly felt that, in this case, the court was not doing justice. After all the pain and hurt Andrews has gone through, the least she deserves was the money from a hotel and a man her systematically ruined her life. A simple phone call notifying Andrews of a man wanting to book a room right next to hers could have prevented all of the events that followed, but the damage has been done and will forever be something that Andrews will have to live with and seek therapy for. Although we won’t know anything until Friday, the most we can hope for is justice being done for Erin Andrews.