Barta was right to ask WHO-TV for apology, but ...

First of all, forced apologies aren't really apologies.

Now, for the back story on this, I urge you to go to Marc Morehouse's Gazetteonline blog for this item on Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta asking WHO-TV in Des Moines for an apology.

The genesis of this story was WHO Sunday sports show "SoundOFF" airing this video:

That show has created and aired other videos involving U. of Iowa athletics that I thought were clever, funny and fair game. We can always use more clever and funny in this life. But this video doesn't fit that description, in my opinion. It doesn't strike me as humorous or even satirical.

Second, Barta is right to be irked that an Iowa player was singled out like this when the player has done nothing to warrant ridicule. Barta is right to stand up for his school's student-athlete. It's what you'd want and expect from an athletics director.

Third, if the television station truly thinks the video wasn't cruel, and had some sort of intrinsic value, it shouldn't apologize for airing it.

I thought the video was kind of a cheap shot at John Lickliter. Saying he has had far worse things said about him on the World Wide Web isn't an argument in this matter.

But here's what I see as the cold, hard truth: If John Lickliter wasn't Todd Lickliter's son, no one at WHO would have bothered to make that video. When a coach puts his son on the court in Big Ten basketball games and that son has a rough game, insults will almost always follow. No matter how undeserved.

WHO's Keith Murphy -- a great talent and a good and smart person -- offers his view on the matter at his blog. Click here to see the entire post. Here's a passage:

I appreciate you taking the time to write and ask for my opinion on Chris Hassel's spoof Sunday night. I take your constructive criticism seriously.

I will tell you that the Lickliter piece also made me uncomfortable. Had I seen it before it aired, I would have asked for changes. (Chris likes his taped pieces to air as we see them for the first time so that our on-air reaction is honest. We will no longer allow this.) Like you, I thought the Liclkliter spoof crossed the line. However, the segment should not be confused with journalism or a report in one of our Emmy award-winning newscasts. It's SoundOFF, a sports and entertainment show featuring strong opinion, passionate viewer feedback, and hopefully, a few laughs. It's closer in tone to the Daily Show or SNL than it is to NBC Nightly News.

Again, let me be clear, I did not care for the target of the Lickliter spoof, but I'm glad we have such a popular forum for dissenting views and opinions. I have been stunned how popular the segment was and how many people loved it. I'm also aware of the many people who did not care for it. Satire is highly subjective. What's over the line for someone often depends on their biases and views going in. Humor, as you no doubt know, also often takes on a slight tone of mean-spiritedness. The line to not cross mostly depends whom you ask.

So ... what do you people out there think?