steve cohen travaille worldsoccerdaily et a raconté des conneries sur hillsborough,encore un journaliste qui ne sait pas de quoi il parle.
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An open letter to Steven Cohen
Wednesday, 6th May 2009
An open letter to Steven Cohen - regarding statements made about the actions of Liverpool Fans at the Hillsborough Disaster.

It is regretful that this letter even has to be written. Roughly two years ago Mr. Steven Cohen made remarks about the Hillsborough disaster, putting the blame for it firmly on the shoulders of the Fans of Liverpool Football Club. Various emails came to light about this and other anti Liverpool comments that were made by Mr. Cohen. I took it upon myself (note 1) to contact Mr. Cohen via email and discuss the matter further with him. After a few emails back and forth we came to the conclusion that it would be better to discuss the subject over the phone and after giving my telephone number to Mr. Cohen he called me. Several phone calls followed and it lead to Mr. Cohen offering to hold a on air discussion on his radio program about Hillsborough. He also wanted to extend that conversation to Heysel and other Liverpool related incidents. I had permission from the Hillsborough Justice Campaign to represent them for the discussion but a date could not be set as Mr. Cohen was away from his program for a matter of weeks.

After much thought and discussion with other Liverpool fans I decided not to accept the invite. A moot point as, after his return from Australia, Mr Cohen did not try to schedule any meeting or debate. My primary reasoning was that the comments were made on the TV show that Mr. Cohen hosts on the Fox Soccer Channel then any rebuttal should be made on the same platform to the same audience. Other reasons included the fact that Mr. Cohen made an apology for his remarks on the show, the fact that I wished to keep the discussion related to Hillsborough and that I was uncomfortable with the person who made the original remarks also being in control of where the conversation would go rather than having a neutral mediator. I also felt that Mr. Cohen's primary reason for wanting the discussion on his radio show was to drive up the ratings for that show rather than genuinely wishing to discuss Hillsborough.

As the apology had been made on air I decided to let the matter drop and hope that was the end of it. Unfortunately I was wrong.

In the week of the 20th Anniversary of the Hillsborough Disaster Mr. Cohen regurgitated his views and opinions of Hillsborough on his radio show and yet again placed all the blame firmly on the shoulders of Liverpool fans. It was also noticeable that on the TV show the person who made the comments about the anniversary of Hillsborough was not Mr. Cohen but was instead the co-host - Mr. Nick Webster. Mr. Cohen had no comments to make.
It is my belief that the original apology he made on Fox Soccer Channel was forced upon him by the Fox network and was not anything he believed in.

Mr. Cohen was contacted by many fans of Liverpool football club (and other football fans) all expressing opinions that he is incorrect. Emails he received included one from Professor Phil Scraton - author of Hillsborough - The Truth. He did not reply to that email. He, yet again, offered to have a discussion about Hillsborough but wanted it on his terms and on his show.
Mr. Cohen's position is that Liverpool fans have never taken any of the responsibility for Hillsborough and that "thousands of unticketed fans" caused the disaster. Facts clearly mean nothing to Mr. Cohen. There are plenty around the clearly refute his position and he has had every chance to be educated about Hillsborough and has refused to do so. There is no point in reiterating the facts here. Mr. Cohen may choose to discuss the issue further with Phil Scraton or just read his book. I suspect neither will happen.

Mr. Cohen will no doubt continue to show how horrible Liverpool fans are by claiming he is being threatened by them. There will be no genuine admission that he is wrong because he is unwilling to open his mind to that possibility. He will continue to use his position as the co-owner and host of his radio show to maintain and propagate his lies about Liverpool fans and the Hillsborough disaster. He will also continue to use his right to "freedom of expression" to say whatever he likes and that it's his opinion that Liverpool fans have never shared any responsibility for Hillsborough.

You are wrong Mr. Cohen. Wrong on many points. 96 fans went to watch a game of football never suspecting that the police would fail, not even thinking that the stadium might not have a safety certificate. I'm sure they didn't suspect that the police would fail in directing the fans to all the pens, instead just leaving them to head for the one in front of them. Did the Liverpool fans think the police would use batons to stop them climbing out of the crowded death traps that were killing them, that the police would prevent ambulances reaching the injured as they lay dying on the field and that as all of this was happening the man in charge of the police operations, the one that gave the order to open the gates and let fans in, would be telling the FA that the fans forced the gate open. The blame fell on the shoulders of the Liverpool fans in the media and still does. The official enquires blamed many factors but the main one stayed consistent - the police failed in their duties.

That is why, 20 years later, when people in the media still blame the fans, many react angrily. Because it is nothing more than a lie - one that a few minutes of research would correct but the failure to do so results in the opening of old wounds that were incorrectly inflicted. You have lied Mr. Cohen.

Freedom of Expression

One of the things that has been quoted many times in our defense is that you live in America and have the freedom to express your thoughts. To an extent you are right - however there are restrictions to that freedom of expression.
"A communication is defamatory if it tends to so harm the reputation of another as to lower him in the estimation of the community or to deter third persons from associating or dealing with him." American Law Institute Restatement of the Law of Torts, Second, Sec. 550 (note 2)

Maybe you were unaware of this previously. You are not anymore.

Given the lack of sincerity in your previous public apology and your reiteration of your lies on Hillsborough do not be surprised that you have raised the ire of many Liverpool and other fans. Your only defense to your stance is a willful ignorance of the facts and your decision to ignore every opportunity to educate yourself about the facts of the Hillsborough disaster. You are in a unique position in being able to broadcast your position through the Media. The lack of an comparable platform to counter your views has lead to many fans calling you directly, calling your show and communicating with your sponsors.
It is my understanding that Steve Nicol, manager of the New England Revolution and a Liverpool player who was at Hillsborough, has confirmed that he will no longer appear on your shows. I also understand that a couple of sponsors are now looking to withdraw their support of your programs.

Given your use of the freedom of expression laws in the USA I am also copying this letter to various Liverpool Websites and to your sponsor in order that they can have the full facts about your stance. By publishing this letter I am also requesting that your sponsors consider the impact your stance has on the football community and reconsider any further dealings with you, shows you appear on or any programs you are associated with. I'm sure that they may not wish to see their reputations tarnished by association with you.

I, as many other fans of all clubs do, still look upon Hillsborough as mainly the failings of the police. It was a disaster that, due to the way the day unfurled, could have happened to any set of fans. Liverpool fans and the families of the 96 have received many messages of sympathy and solidarity from fans of all clubs over what happened that day and the fact that the issues still burns deeply after 20 years speaks volumes for all those who still campaign for justice.

There are many people who will still react when inaccuracies and lies about Hillsborough appear in the media and you are not exempt from that. In continuing your stance your are compromising your position as the host of the most listened to football radio show in the USA. What you do now is up to you - nobody can force you to change your mind. However do not be surprised if your current stance upsets a lot of people as your point of view is nothing more than a lie.

Yours Sincerely,
Mike
http://www.ynwa.tv

Further reading and information:
http://www.amazon.com/Hillsborough-Truth-P...n/dp/1840181567
http://www.hfdinfo.com

Note 1... I had lead and been involved with several movements to correct Hillsborough related errors in the American Media including, but not restricted to, removal of inappropriate footage used by programs on The Learning Channel, removal of footage of Hillsborough footage used by Michael Moore, apologies from Maxim in their use of Hillsborough images in their magazine and preventing BBC Worldwide from selling and profiting from footage of Hillsborough to which they have exclusive rights.

Note 2... C. Exceptions to Freedom of Expression
Defamation: Defamation consists of a publication of a statement of alleged fact which is false and which harms the reputation of another person.(1) Our right to freedom of expression is restricted when our expressions (whether a spoken slander or written libel) cause harm to the reputation of another person. The courts recognize that words can hurt us,
"A communication is defamatory if it tends to so harm the reputation of another as to lower him in the estimation of the community or to deter third persons from associating or dealing with him." American Law Institute Restatement of the Law of Torts, Second, Sec. 550

To:
Steven@worldsoccerdaily.com
Chelcfc@mac.com