Internet message boards can produce hazardous materials

Citizens beware: Not only might Big Brother be watching, John Q. Public may be blogging, or posting, or whatever it is that people do on Internet message boards.

Yes, folks, it is a scary world we live in.

I don't know about you, but it bothers me that people in Cyberland can go to any chat room or message board and post anonymous comments about someone. They could be true, or they might not be.

That very scenario is playing out in one of the strangest and most disturbing stories I've had to cover: the resignation of Bo Overton, head coach and general manager of Chicago's WNBA team, the Sky.

This story is strange because of the way the Sky has handled it from the beginning. It's disturbing because of the seriousness of the allegations and what seems to be at the center of this mess: an Internet message board.

Let me recap, in case you've missed the sordid details:

On Wednesday, the Sky announced that Overton had resigned his position.

The reason? No comment, team officials said, but they wished Overton the best.

Weird, right?

Even more shocking was the news that broke on Thursday. The Sky's team message board was fueling rumors of misconduct by Overton. An anonymous poster, known only as "Cinderella," had alleged that Overton had sexually harassed a player. Other posters refuted that claim, but then a person, claiming to be a parent of a player, insisted the allegations were true.

Team president Margaret Stender then added her own message and said the team denounced harassment of any kind. She asked for anyone with information regarding any sexual harassment to contact her as soon as possible.

By Thursday evening, Overton's lawyer, David Little, broke the silence in their camp and said the only reason Sky officials gave Overton for what amounted to a "de facto firing" was that the Chicago Sky brand was being damaged by the content on its message board.

Little also said Overton denies all of the accusations and challenged the credibility of the anonymous fan.

Of course, Cinderella may be in for a bigger battle. If the allegations against Overton are proved false, watch out. Litigation could start flying, including straight at Cinderella for slander and defamation.

While it's difficult to prove slander cases, especially with public figures, there are some black and white areas.

One Chicago-based lawyer told me that opinions, especially when they are made about public figures, are generally protected. But if comments are made that have a basis of fact and a person infers that they have information on those facts and those facts are proven incorrect, that person is most certainly libel.

For example, sexual harassment either happened or it didn't. And through an investigation, those facts should be able to be proven.

Speaking of the facts, I don't know what to believe in this case. All I know is that there really is no good outcome here. Either a player was sexually harassed by her coach or a man lost his job based on a malicious rumor.

If it's the former, no one should have to put up with such a hostile environment and it makes me sick that this problem still exists. If it's the latter, God help us all.

If a disgruntled "fan" can ruin a coach's career, what's next? Could you lose your job, your kids, your freedom to an Internet rumor?

We all better hope there's no one out there who dislikes us enough to write something horrible for the world to see.