CNN’s John Avlon Acknowledges Widespread Media Failure on BYU Racist Heckling Allegations: ‘There Was a Rush to Judgment’

CNN’s John Avlon provided some “journalistic accountability” for his network and others during a new segment Monday he dubbed “Upon Further Review.”

Avlon tackled the findings from an investigation by Brigham Young University that found no evidence to back up allegations from Duke University volleyball player Rachel Richardson that she and other athletes were subjected to racist heckling.

In a statement about the alleged incident, BYU said they’d interviewed dozens of people, reviewed video and audio evidence, and found nothing to back up the claim that fans were hurling racist slurs at players. One fan even had a lifetime ban reversed amid the investigation, Avlon noted.

The CNN anchor noted the story jumped to the front of the “outrage Olympics” and his new segment was to update the “initial official version of the story once more facts come in.” He added at one point that CNN was one of many networks to jump on the initial allegations, even inviting Richardson’s family on-air.

“Healthy skepticism is always a virtue, but this doesn’t read like a coverup. Instead, it feels like there was a rush to judgment because of a well-intentioned impulse to believe the Duke player’s accusations,” he said.

Avlon added that the Richardson family has “notably” not returned requests for comment from CNN, despite previously appearing on the network.

Avlon did provide some cover for the allegations, saying the BYU statement does not accuse Richardson of being a “liar or a fabricator” and acknowledging that “systemic racism is real and corrosive to the soul of our nation.”

Facts, however, “always have to come first,” he added.

Avlon called for the media to report on the new facts in the Duke University scandal with the same “intensity” they reported on the initial allegations.

“Fidelity to the facts is all that we as journalists and citizens should ask,” Avlon said. “It’s understandable that there’s a desire to believe people when they say they’ve been victimized, but the accusations have to be backed up by facts and when the facts don’t fit upon further review, we need to set the record straight with as much intensity as the initial reports.”

Watch above via CNN