Let’s try and clear a few things up here.

On Monday, we began reporting on an incident that took place three years ago.

A member of the men’s basketball team has a warrant out for his arrest in Iowa. The player, senior John Culbertson, is charged with terrorism in connection with a shooting incident that took place while he was a student at Iowa State University.

Culbertson is accused of firing upon an automobile with a gun after having a dispute with the car’s occupants.

This is what a Star article reported Monday. The headline read “NIU athlete wanted for terrorism.”

Since the printing of the headline and story, the Star has been deluged with complaints—particularly about the headline, but also about the story.

Readers were angered because the word terrorism was used in the headline. Some said we were sensationalizing the news while others accused us of being racist.

Each of those arguments can be refuted. Under Iowa law, Culbertson is charged with terrorism. There was nothing false in the headline, it was factual. The headline stated a fact which was reported in the second sentence of the story. That sentence read, “John Culbertson … is charged with terrorism.”

The word terrorism also was not intended to be racially derogatory—the headline was written for the story—not because Culbertson is black. Culbertson’s race had no influence on the word choice.

Upon consideration of the headline, however, it is understandable how some might draw the wrong connotations from the word terrorism. In hindsight, there probably are better terms that might have been used. But it is not our fault the Iowa authorities choose to classify the offense as terrorism, regardless of how misleading that classification might be.

Another complaint which has arisen from the reporting of this incident is that the Star is digging up old news just to ruffle some feathers. That is simply not the case.

When Culbertson came to NIU to play basketball, he surrendered some of his rights to privacy. As a student-athlete, he is a public figure and things like the shooting incident are newsworthy.

This is nothing we have been holding back on, waiting for the right moment to print it. We received a tip on this story just over a week ago and have been working on it since.

We thought it was important for our readers to know what types of individuals represent the university on our sports teams. So we investigated and wrote the story.

Sure, the shooting took place three years ago, but time does not lessen the severity of the crime. And this is important because Culbertson is attending this university on a scholarship, and some of the money comes from taxpayers.

There is no reason someone involved in a criminal act such as this should be allowed a free ride in college while other, more deserving individuals are denied an education. There is a certain amount of injustice there.

As a result of the article, basketball coach Jim Rosborough said neither he nor his players will talk to the Star from now on. This is not the first time he has made such a threat.

And in a way it’s understandable. He has a vested interest in his players—he wants to protect them and he does not like to see them in trouble.

However, Rosborough should understand in cases like this, he might be better off cooperating with the media and getting things out in the open. Refusing to allow our reporters to talk to the team is only counterproductive.

The Star has nothing against Rosborough or anyone involved with the basketball team. Personally, I would love to see them do well. I like cheering for a winner. But as a journalist, I can’t cover up the negative. It has to be addressed and dealt with. I don’t know if Rosborough comprehends that or not.

The Star will continue to work on the Culbertson story as long as it remains a story. And we will continue to do so fairly.