For the Erin Andrews fans (and fans of civil rights)

[molitor fan]

Apparently someone trying to make a quick buck illegally put a camera in a hotel room Erin Andrews was staying, and has put the subsequent footage on thee interwebs.....

 

Sucks that someone doing nothing but living their life had to have their privacy taken from them in this way....

 

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news;_ylt=AukkiKpLikZjgPNNtIfOXJ45nYcB?slug=ap-espn-andrewsvideo&prov=ap&type=lgns

[homer]

Just a note that if you go searching for the video, there is a Trojan virus attached to it.

 

 

not that I've searched or anything...

[patrickgpe]

there are stills on the ny post's website this morning, which amazes that they were allowed to do that. It must be said though that really nothing she wears on the sidelines leaves much to the imagination. That being said that does not come even close to justifying what was done to her.

[SeriesFinale]

Yeah, I wasn't gonna start this thread, but when I first heard about/saw the video the other night on DailyMotion (before it was taken down), I was absolutely shocked--the guy who did this should get locked up for a long time.

 

Disappointing, because, frankly, I wouldn't have minded getting an eyeful, but not like this.

[Gobias Industries]

I agree with you Series. Hearing the peeper breath was just off-the-charts creepiness.

 

I have to think there is just no way this guy gets found. What are the chances that the guy that posted it is the same guy that filmed it? Unlikely, at best.

 

Also, what were EA's lawyers thinking confirming this was her? This video was posted months ago, and was a complete non-issue until last Friday. Many people were skeptical it was her until the legal statement.

[brewdude15]

There are a ton of articles on Deadspin about the Erin Andrews scandal and according to one of them, the video had been posted on the internet back in February and was available to find through Google search. I have a hard time believing that, however, as if it was EA then it would make some major headlines.

 

I was going to start a thread about this last night when I saw it on Yahoo's front page, but I didn't figure it would be appropriate.

[RyDogg66]

Authorities could start a pretty good suspect list simply by pulling hotel records of places she has stayed at from the time it was originally posted (February I suppose) and going back about 6 months to college football season 2008. It appears that this goon was in a room next to her. At the same time they could track a lead from the Dailymotion website from the person who originally posted it. Whomever originally posted it must know who filmed it, or where they got it from. I think some good detective work could turn up the person responsible.

[jjkoestler]

I was reading a few articles and blogs about the video and there are a quite a few people (me not being one of them) that believe the video was staged.

[RyDogg66]

That people believe this was staged is almost as disturbing as the guy who shot the video. While not taken to the same extreme, it is the same line of thinking that leads to the "she was asking for it" defense in a sexual assault case. People just have a hard time believing that women DONT want men to objectify and violate them.

[Gobias Industries]

Yeah, that opinion is just way out there. Will Leitch made a good point in his post today stating something like "the sportsworld would have been shocked if she posed for FHM", which is 100% true. By all accounts she's made her personal life extremely private. I don't recall any athletes she's ever been linked to. Bill Simmons tried to convince her to set up a twitter to no avail. And she kind of comes across as a narcissist in the video, so it's not very flattering for her girl next door persona.

[Diskono]

That people believe this was staged is almost as disturbing as the guy who shot the video. While not taken to the same extreme, it is the same line of thinking that leads to the "she was asking for it" defense in a sexual assault case. People just have a hard time believing that women DONT want men to objectify and violate them.

Well, a lot of people are into that. But regardless, I can't see how or why this would be staged - why bring lawyers into it?

[Godspeed]

Bringing lawyers into it just validates the legitimacy of the video. Poor move on her part and the only thing you could possibly fault her for here. I'd say denying to maintain you're privacy is worth much more than any settlement she'd get from the unconscionable offenders.

[whizkid]

I don't see how bringing lawyers into it and confirming it is her is a mistake, it's a choice. Apparently this video has been out there a few months and I'd assume she's been thinking about how to handle it. I doubt any civil monetary award would be all that significant to her so I'd assume she wants the creep brought to criminal justice. Without an identified victim, there's no proof there was even a crime in shooting it. It could have been staged by willing participants with a look alike. So she had to come forward to the authorities to get it investigated, provide her hotel itineraries etc. At some point it most likely would be leaked that it was her or if the person was caught and tried it would come out. So you make a preemptive statement.

[fondybrewfan]

Sooner or later this guy is going to get caught, no doubt in my mind. He probably didn't pull this one off without telling someone.

[jjkoestler]

Any lawyers here? What are the legal penalties for committing this crime?

[TSack27]

Any lawyers here? What are the legal penalties for committing this crime?

I'm not a lawyer (nor did I stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night) and they still haven't determined where this occured, but per the spokesman from the Connecticut State Police - "Video voyeurism laws vary from state to state. In Connecticut, it is considered a felony and can result in a prison sentence of up to five years"

[LouisEly]

Sooner or later this guy is going to get caught, no doubt in my mind. He probably didn't pull this one off without telling someone.

I'd say sooner rather than later. I haven't seen the video, but I saw a still on a news report and it shouldn't be difficult to figure out what hotel that is. Then look at the camera angle from that room and figure out where it was shot from and see what you find. Then they should be able to figure out how it was taken, and who would have access to what on that date/time.

 

Boy, talk about a test of a man's moral fibers. I haven't seen the video, nor have I searched for it, but there is a devil on one of my shoulders talking into one of my ears (not necessarily because it's her, but I'm a fan of tall voluptuous women in general). If you can say that you haven't had a devil on one of your shoulders since you heard about it... you're a better man than me. Regardless, like Series said, not this way, and that person should lose their freedom for a while.

[Schlitz001]

I will be honest and say that my first primal reaction upon reading this story was to go on google and search for more information, but google has a feature where it suggests what you are searching for as you are typing the search word in. I got so far as typing "Erin Andr" and google wanted to finish the search phrase for me as "Erin Andrew's peephole video". It was at that point that I took a step back and realized how perverse the situation was. It's an enormous invasion of privacy and I can't imagine how Erin must feel right now. It's sad that the next time she does a sideline report thousands of fans watching are going to be reminded of the video. I hope whoever is responsible gets what's coming.

[PlayerHader]

I'm not gonna lie. I watched it before realizing how the video was taken. I felt a little sick to the stomach when I realized how the video was made, and haven't checked it out again since.

[valpocrewsader]

"Staged" has the wrong connotation, but I'll say that when I watched it I assumed it was someone in her room like a boyfriend -- perhaps a boyfriend taking video secretly on a camera phone. Just the angle is perfect, it's so candid & for such an extended period of time, the shots appear like they're inside the room (see close up doorknob near end), and the camera operater seems to do enough moving and noise making that it felt like it had to be a known person in close quarters. I'm not saying it's any kind of proof of anything, but I could see how people would think it was staged or she was in on it.

 

Just seems hard to believe that someone would have the same room next to her, have the exact angle figured out, drill the hole at a time when no one would notice, and then possess technology to capture decent video zoomed in nicely through an opening super small enough that she wouldn't detect noise and movement going on behind it. And on top of all that, she cooperates by walking around naked for five minutes right along the perfect angle! And on top of that, he's either randomly filming at just the right time or he's filming all day (but staying near the equipment -- he's definitely controlling camera in the video). Just awesome preparation and the stars aligning perfectly?

 

So much work involved. I'll say, it just doesn't add up to me.

[RayKingsForemanGrill]

"Staged" has the wrong connotation, but I'll say that when I watched it I assumed it was someone in her room like a boyfriend -- perhaps a boyfriend taking video secretly on a camera phone. Just the angle is perfect, it's so candid & for such an extended period of time, the shots appear like they're inside the room (see close up doorknob near end), and the camera operater seems to do enough moving and noise making that it felt like it had to be a known person in close quarters. I'm not saying it's any kind of proof of anything, but I could see how people would think it was staged or she was in on it.

 

Just seems hard to believe that someone would have the same room next to her, have the exact angle figured out, drill the hole at a time when no one would notice, and then possess technology to capture decent video zoomed in nicely through an opening super small enough that she wouldn't detect noise and movement going on behind it. And on top of all that, she cooperates by walking around naked for five minutes right along the perfect angle! And on top of that, he's either randomly filming at just the right time or he's filming all day (but staying near the equipment -- he's definitely controlling camera in the video). Just awesome preparation and the stars aligning perfectly?

 

So much work involved. I'll say, it just doesn't add up to me.

 

I usually just lurk here, but felt the need to log in to say: god I hope not. I think this idea is absurd. Edit: This mentality is a first cousin of the mentality that makes people doubt women when they say they've been raped. Until proven otherwise, I think we owe Erin Andrews the benefit of the doubt on this one.

[Houlie24x]

I didn't see the video so I don't know whether it looks like it was taken in the room or not. It's very possible that her boyfriend or a past boyfriend or just some random guy took the video in the same room with a tiny camera while she didn't know.

 

I don't think Valpo was saying she was in on it, just that it might not have been a peeping Tom but instead it was a boyfriend or something.

[RayKingsForemanGrill]

Yeah, I apologize, I went back and read it again and I recognize that he may not have been implying that Andrews was involved.

 

In fact, this theory (that it was someone close to her) may hold some weight as one report I saw tonight suspected it may have been an ESPN employee who did it.

 

So who knows...

[valpocrewsader]

one report I saw tonight suspected it may have been an ESPN employee who did it.

Interesting. Things could start to make a lot more sense when you consider the possibility that ESPN might block several hotel rooms together, could do it in advance in such a way that a person might know whose room they'll be next to, and might mean the person in that room would have inside knowledge on Andrews' schedule (exactly when she'd be out of the room and when she'd be getting ready). To be totally speculative, the person in the neighboring room could even be an audio video engineer / crew member for the network with advanced technology experience and know-how.

 

My earlier post wasn't meant to sound like I was trying to find ways to discount her claim, just as someone who had seen the video there certainly were enough little things that could make one doubtful.

[bigredrobbo]

Sooner or later this guy is going to get caught, no doubt in my mind. He probably didn't pull this one off without telling someone.

Even though I know it was innocently phrased, the bolded section is the part of the sentence that caused me to spray coffee all over the keyboard!