ESPN had planned to release a documentary about the life of NBA basketball star and Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson (who is married to the controversial Michelle Rhee, former chancellor of the District of Columbia public schools). The documentary was supposed to be released on October 20. However, the sports network has canceled the release of the film.
Tickets to tonight’s showcase of the documentary Down In The Valley in Sacramento, Calif., just got collectable. It may be the only public viewing the ESPN-produced film, about how Kevin Johnson saved the local NBA franchise, ever gets. Mere hours before showtime for the local premiere at a downtown theater, ESPN said that the movie has been pulled from the schedule of the network’s 30 for 30 series.
“We are re-evaluating the content presentation of it and delaying the premiere,” ESPN vice-president John Dahl said in an interview with SI’s Richard Deitsch. “I think the most important thing here is to make sure it’s clear that we are not tone deaf and we’re aware of a renewed focus on certain issues.”
The documentary was originally set to air on October 20. An ESPN source tells Deadspin that the Worldwide Leader has “decided to open up the film and take a look at where we may make some adjustments……”
Johnson, the former NBA star and now mayor of Sacramento, Calif., has been the subject of a recent series of stories about financial investigations and sexual abuse allegations that have trailed him from his playing days through his second term as the chief executive of his hometown.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Watching Johnson’s wife Rhee enjoy firing a D.C. school principal on national, public television, about seven years ago, is the reason I started reading Valerie Strauss, and eventually, Diane Ravitch. Every defeat for them is so sweet for me. It feels so good to watch the bad guys lose. Left Coast Best Post Award!
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I agree so very much. I was horrified at the void of integrity, compassion, and any sense of morality When she fired someone on tv. If I remember correctly , so was the camera man and reporter.
I am going to make some popcorn and watch the rats go down with the ship. First, Arne ( bitter sweet because of his clone – King), then Bennet, Now maybe Kevin and his equally psycopathic wife.
Maybe Christmas will come early this year.Hopefully Santa brings presents like AG indictments, jail time, and an implosion of the whole hostile takeover of public education. Now if we could only bring back the stockades…
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Bob, don’t forget that Joel Klein’s business went bust.
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“If I remember correctly , so was the camera man and reporter.”
Really? Then why didn’t the cameraman turn off the camera? Why did the reporter go ahead with the story? And anyway, like they didn’t know in advance what was going to happen? They are at least as culpable as Rhee in that nasty episode.
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That reporter was none other than John Merrow.
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I take no pleasure in this debacle even if there is some accountability (and I am skeptical that there will be justice). So many children, families, communities and dedicated professional educators have suffered irreparable damage that cannot been undone.
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Speaking of New York — Eva, I’m looking at you — tonight on PBS: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/kindergarten-young-suspend-student/
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from the SACRAMENTO BEE:
“Johnson’s camp was incredulous Monday that ESPN would announce postponing the film just hours before hundreds of Sacramentans gathered to celebrate its viewing at the Crest Theatre.”
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/marcos-breton/article38838423.html#storylink=cpy
Well, boo-freakin’-hoo. Poor Kevin.
The only person to whom anyone should be showing sympathy is…
MANDI KOBA
Watch this video.
Now, the Bee has to immediately call for Kevin Johnson’s resignation.
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More from the SACRAMENTO BEE:
———————-
” ‘Candidly, this is an ESPN cheap shot,’ said Doug Elmets, longtime political consultant and adviser to some of California’s most influential Native American tribes.
“ ‘ESPN bowed to an online publication that clearly has a vendetta against Kevin Johnson, but I don’t think it will have a lasting impact on the mayor, his ability to do his job or to run for re-election,’ Elmets said.
” ‘None of these revelations are new. Despite what people may feel, Johnson has delivered for Sacramento, and anyone who wants to use this situation to sell him short is probably going to end up being surprised. ‘ ”
———————-
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/marcos-breton/article38838423.html#storylink=cpy
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!!!
What an absolute load of bull!!!
According to this douche political consultant, merely because Kevin “has delivered for Sacramento,” we should just view Mandi Koba as an acceptable sacrifice, one necessary to acheive the goal of keeping the Kings basketball team in Sacramento. Her lifelong trauma is just a little collateral damage, so we should all just look the other way, and give Kevin a free pass, and allow him to indulge his devilish desire for female flesh.
“… and anyone who wants to use this situation to sell him short is probably going to end up being surprised. ‘ ”
“the situation”… ?
KEVIN JOHNSON IS A FREAKIN’ PEDOPHILE!!!!
WHAT THE-HELL IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE????!!!
Watch the videoÚ
———————————————————————-
( 00:37 – 01:35 )
( 00:37 – 01:35 )
PHOENIX P.D. DETECTIVE: “What … what specific areas (of your body did Kevin Johnson fondle)?”
MANDI KOBA: “My stomach. My breasts. My butt… ”
PHOENIX P.D. DETECTIVE: (almost whispering) “Anywhere else?”
MANDI KOBA: “As it progressed.”
PHOENIX P.D. DETECTIVE: “Where ELSE did it progress?”
MANDI KOBA: “Between my legs.”
PHOENIX P.D. DETECTIVE: “Okay, and what do we call that area?”
MANDI KOBA: “My vagina.”
PHOENIX P.D. DETECTIVE: “And – and I know some of the questions sound stupid. Okay? And I apologize for it, but there are certain things I’m looking for. Unless I know these things, then…
MANDI KOBA: “I understand.”
PHOENIX P.D. DETECTIVE: ” … then I don’t know what’s going on.”
— (PAUSE)
“He (Kevin Johnson) had HIS clothes off?”
MANDI KOBA: “Yes.”
PHOENIX P.D. DETECTIVE: “What happened after the fondling?”
MANDI KOBA: “That’s … we didn’t have intercourse… It was… just a lot of THAT. I don’t know how long it lasted, and then… ummm ”
CLIP ENDS
———————————–
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Bravo. Nothing more to see here. Move along.
Hopefully, this despicable man and his grifter wife can be focused on with a slant to indict.
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…his grifter, child abusing wife…
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Rhee and Johnson Reformer Inc. – promoted and purchased by Broad, Gates, Klein, Murdoch, Bloomberg, Duncan, Obama, Moskowitz, Kopp, Tilson, Morning Joe, Washington Post editorial board, New York Times editorial board, DFER, hedge fund profiteers, etc.
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He actually married her!? How drunk was he when that happened?
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Birds of a feather….. break laws together.
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At least the ex-husband was wise enough to get sole custody of their young daughters and keep them states away from the KJ.
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He has “improved” Sacramento by arranging for a new sports arena in our downtown and has worked tirelessly to see that the local NBA team did not leave. After all, this makes us a world-class city! What else could a mayor possibly do for a city? (Hopefully you can hear the sarcastic tone this is intended to convey.)
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We’re so world class that international heroes get stabbed in the back. Go Sactown, world class all the way!
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You really cannot overstate how completely this “movement” has captured government, and the extent of the marketing campaign:
“Today Mayor Kevin Johnson welcomed US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan as he continued his national back-to-school bus tour in Sacramento at the California Mayors Education Summit.
The Summit culminated in a screening of the Hollywood-movie “Won’t Back Down,” followed by a panel discussion at the Downtown Plaza Century Theater, where a capacity crowd watched the film and then heard education reform leaders discuss the climate of education reform in America today. The film was first screened at the US Conference of Mayors Leadership Meeting in Philadelphia, and this week begins a set of mayor-hosted screenings throughout the country leading up to the release of the film on September 28. “Won’t Back Down” stars Oscar nominees Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal and tells the story of determined parents and teachers who take on special interests through grassroots organizing. It is loosely based on the parent trigger law and events surrounding a Compton, CA school.”
An ed reform “movement” movie followed by “listening to education reform leaders”. It’s a completely closed circle. You imagine the mayors walking out of there like zombies, ready to privatize all their schools 🙂
http://www.kevinjohnson.com/media/news/mayor-kevin-johnson-welcomes-us-secretary-of-education-arne-duncan-to-sacramento
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Apparently, hosting it for the mayors is the only way it can be received. It bombed at the box office because us regular 99%ers can smell BS and not feed the reform trolls. We’re waking up, and wising up.
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Donna and Chiara, the showing of “Won’t Back Down” for the mayors must have been the only full house it ever had. It opened on 2500 screens and disappeared within 30 days because of low ticket sales. Movie websites described it as the biggest bomb in years.
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Love to see you linking to Deadspin, Diane.
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Dave Mckenna reported on KJ at HOPE– his charter school–, KJ as a Mayor with non-profit slush funds as well as his takeover attempt of the black mayor’s conference, and KJ as mentor to 15 yo girl in Phoenix back in the day.
Who’s Funding Kevin Johnson’s Secret Government? http://deadspin.com/whos-funding-kevin-johnsons-secret-government-1731005808
Kevin Johnson’s Cronies Trump Up Racism Scandal Against His Enemies http://deadspin.com/kevin-johnsons-cronies-trump-up-racism-scandal-against-1720283417
“I’m A Grown-Up Now”: The Teen Who Accused Kevin Johnson Of Sexual Abuse Speaks Out http://deadspin.com/im-a-grown-up-now-the-teen-who-accused-kevin-johnson-1732538782
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I guess Rhee’s judgement on a personal level might be as bad as her judgement on a “professional” level!:)
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I do sincerely believe that Kevin Johnson’s crimes against several young girls is possibly just the “tip of the iceberg.”
Like Bill Cosby, who at first had his supporters ridiculing the handful of women who came forward to accuse him of drugging and sexually assaulting them, after the numbers kept mounting, it was impossible to deny his crimes any further.
From several accounts I’ve read, his spouse, Michelle Rhee—a person who has still never been fully investigated regarding her role in the massive cheating scandal while she was running the DC schools—was key in developing a strategy for her husband, coaching him, working with other professionals to help him learn how to distract the public and discredit those who accused him.
To some extent, Rhee has to also be held accountable here and I’m hoping she’ll also be called on the carpet to tell everything she knows, under oath, about all of these ugly episodes.
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This must-read, first person narrative comes from the victim, Mandi Koba, herself:
http://www.mandikoba.com/my-silence-has-been-bought-my-story-is-not-my-own/
—————
my silence has been bought.
my story is not my own.
June 7, 2015
MANDI KOBA: “I am every victim of sexual assault by a celebrity, a professional athlete, a politician that has been silenced. I’ve been afraid to speak, come forward and tell my story. But no more. It’s time.
“I’ve been told that it’s my word against his, and who would people believe. I’ve been told that I was believed but the political and economic implications of filing charges didn’t make sense with the low likelihood of conviction without physical evidence.
“I’ve been intoxicated by the celebrity, the attention, the special-ness that draws people to the energy of the well known and celebrated. I benefited from my relationship with a high profile man, had my social status elevated, had my confidence sky-rocket.
“I’ve been conned by the squeaky clean reputation of a man held in high esteem by the public.
“I’ve lain in silence, accepting the unwanted touch of a grown man I trusted, believed in, thought believed in me. An adult mentoring me, grooming me, promising me the world if I would just trust, trust in him.
“I learned to leave my body, not feel the sensation of touch, not notice the passage of time, my brain protecting me from the trauma.
“I’ve walked through the door of the police headquarters, experienced the cleavage of time into before and after.
“I’ve disclosed my abuse, every intimate detail of how I was touched, where, how. I’ve answered questions about penetration… if he had an erection, all to a male detective I’d just met. I’ve been secretly tape recorded and had the tapes released to the media.
“I’ve been called a sick slut in the media, a gold digger, an unreliable victim.
“I’ve had attorneys infer that the man who abused me had much more attractive women, options, so the idea that he’d sexually abuse me, a minor, was ludicrous.
“I’ve had my perpetrator – that’s what he is, a perpetrator, not someone who just made a mistake – held up as an example, a leader, a trusted advisor.
“I’ve been afraid, confused, drowned in self-doubt, questioned my self-worth because the currency of his celebrity trumped me, who I was, who I am as a person.
“I’ve sat with the disgust I felt about the abuse and my inability to see what was happening, the grooming, to prevent it – that I was so desperate for affirmation, for someone to notice me and shower me with attention and tell me that I was more than okay. It’s still hard to not twist my disgust at the situation into disgust for myself.
“The shame that comes with sexual abuse swallows you and the swim to the surface is long, dark and tumultuous with only occasional glimpses of the light of the sun. These are wounds that do not ever heal completely. There will be people, stories, situations, anniversaries that open that wound once again. Like the blood that rises to the surface when a scab is picked, so, too, do the memories, fresh once more.
“I’ve recovered from anorexia, my attempt at taking up as little space as possible in a world I couldn’t trust, an all too common repercussion of sexual trauma.
“I’ve stared at myself in the mirror, questioning my will to live, to continue to fight, with a pile of pills clutched in my hand. I’ve experienced flashbacks – the way he smelled – a particular song – a brand name – a toothy smile.
“I hold my breath, anxiety lowers over me like a black curtain and I am there, again, a loop of my abuse playing like a movie over and over in my mind.
“I’ve learned to take account of my senses, slow my thoughts and remember that I am now safe, I am surviving. Surviving and not a survivor, because it doesn’t stop, the trauma never leaves the body. There is no end point. ‘
“But surviving can turn into thriving, in time.
“I’ve had to accept that I will never get the apology I want, deserve. The apology every victim, surviving, deserves. I earned his trust, kept promises, protected his privacy. Willingly, for too long.
:I’ve lived through the negotiations of a private settlement – been so worn down that I was convinced it was the only way I would achieve any form of justice, accountability. Committed legal blackmail – received restitution.
“My silence has been bought. My story is not my own.
“This should not be the only option available to victims of sexual abuse by high profile men and women. To any victim of sexual abuse.
“The system, our culture, is set up to protect these perpetrators, to protect their images and the teams, shows, political parties they’re associated with and represent.
“We live in a twisted time where a person’s signature is worth money. A person just like any other person, with the mark of a pen, a scrawl across an object, increases it’s value and perpetuates the false ideology that one individual has greater worth than another.
“We live in a world where a person’s worth is based on their gender, race, location, sexuality and station in life and not just because they are alive, living next to each of us, inhaling and exhaling.
“Please know it’s not easy to come forward. It’s not comfortable to make intimate details of one’s abuse available for public consumption. There is no amount of money that can soothe the wound of sexual trauma, make it okay, make it go away.
:Please know that our system is broken. The civil arena is often the only way victims can attempt to get justice and that should be shocking and shameful. But it’s not. It’s the victims that are further shamed and victimized – victimized because they have the nerve, the strength, to fight for themselves in the only way available to them. They are not trying to put a dollar amount on their abuse, their self-worth.
“Please know victims come forward with the hopes that they will be able to prevent further abuse. That their silence feels like giving the perpetrator permission to continue to abuse others.
“Please know that no one would subject oneself to the level of public scrutiny that comes with telling the truth, telling one’s story of sexual assault by a person protected by celebrity.
“Please listen and give us the benefit of the doubt and not default to blaming us, the victims.
“Please listen. Just listen.”
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The transcripts of the taped conversations between KJ and the young girl include KJ’s acknowledging the molestation. Gerald Walpins investigation and report identify victim’s from St Hope and Michelle Rhee’s involvement in covering up the abuse while serving as a St. Hope Board Member. The most recent scandal iinvolving a city employee describes a similar pattern of “grooming”. This man’s behavior patterns are predatory and most likely will at a minimum continue with a possibility of escalation
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A writer for THE NEW REPUBLIC, Max Rivlin-Nadler, actually got a screener copy of DOWN IN THE VALLEY, and reports that it was far more a blatant propaganda piece promoting Johnson than he expected:
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/123104/espn-pulled-its-kevin-johnson-documentary-not-i-watched-it
Max Rivlin-Nadler: “But before it was pulled, I was able to see the film in its entirety. And despite the best efforts of ESPN’s PR apparatus to try to convince the media otherwise, the film goes well beyond portraying Kevin Johnson in a positive light. DOWN IN THE VALLEY amounts to a 77-minute political advertisement for Johnson, a man who in 1995 paid a 15-year-old over $230,000 to keep quiet after she alleged that he had sexually abused her.”
then later…
Max Rivlin-Nadler: “Johnson’s more recent exploits, some as mayor, include intentionally bankrupting a historic black mayor’s conference, flagrant misuse of federal funds, and the installation within his city hall of paid staff members of an aggressively pro-charter school organization, who often failed to disclose their other employer.
“These revelations, as well as his long history of alleged sexual abuse, have been brought to the nation’s attention by the veteran sportswriter Dave McKenna, who has been meticulously detailing the dealings of Johnson for Deadspin.
“But even before that, thanks to the dogged reporting of the Sacramento Bee, a paper Johnson has battled with recently, ESPN had to be well aware that the protagonist of its film was not even close to the near-messianic figure he was being made out to be.
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