Calm is once more restored to the world now that Tom Brady’s Super Bowl jerseys have been found by the ever persistent FBI. The jerseys were taken from The New England Patriot’s locker room by Martin Mauricio Ortega, a director of one of the Mexican Editorial Organization’s (OEM) newspapers. The story immediately took over several news outlets and the FBI even earned a stream of praise from the Tom Brady himself as reported by ESPN.
The coverage was instant and immediate, unlike that of the many black girls that have gone missing.
The FBI have mentioned nothing about the missing girls or mentioned nor the circumstances they may be facing in light of their disappearance (i.e. sex trafficking). Major news outlets have not reported on them despite Teen Vogue’s cover of the story reporting and discovering 15 missing persons cases that were opened back in January. According to the National Crime Center, more than 40 percent of the girls missing are black.
The problem with the immediate coverage on the missing Super Bowl jerseys isn’t just that, it’s the lack of priority on finding the missing girls.
The Teen Vogue article written by Lily Herman went on to explain the “missing white girl syndrome.” This was first mentioned by Gwen Ifill, a reporter for PBS.
This “syndrome” refers to the high coverage of missing, attractive white girls who are of upper or middle class rather than that of people of color who don’t fit into the aforementioned.
The disappearance of New England Patriot quarterback, Tom Brady, wasn’t a national issue, much less an international issue, but it was high on the FBI’s to do list if the jerseys were found a little more than a month after their disappearance. Cases have been open since January and there is still no effort from major news outlets giving coverage to it, much less an effort from the FBI to bring these girls back home.
Foundations like the Black and Missing Foundation bring missing persons cases like these come to light with their message to hold onto hope.
“Families with a missing loved one cling to hope. Hope that their loved one will return home. Hope that law enforcement will be proactive. Hope that the media will get involved. Hope that members of the community will come forward with vital information to bring their loved one home,” — Excerpt from Black And Missing Foundation’s message
It’s time to bring mass media coverage of these missing women and get them back home to their families. It’s time that local law enforcement and the FBI start being proactive in the finding of these girls.
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