Mainstream media’s obsession with the personal lives of national athletes continues

By Les Tan/Red Sports

Mok Ying Ren, 20, national triathlete and 2007 SEA Games triathlon gold medallist, together with fellow national triathlete Dinah Chan, 22, are the latest national athletes to suffer under the hands of a national English media seemingly obsessed with athletes’ personal lives.

In a story even longer - and with a picture even larger - than what he received for winning the 2007 SEA Games gold medal, the Straits Times reported that Ying Ren and Dinah Chan, 22, were both banned for breaching a code of conduct at the Asian Beach Games in Bali, Indonesia, in October 2008 (Caught alone together: Top triathlete banned; The Sunday Times, February 1, 2009).

(There was even a picture that the Straits Times ripped from Ying Ren’s Facebook account of a smiling Ying Ren and Dinah Chan, a picture that Ying Ren obviously didn’t give Straits Times permission to use since the photo credit didn’t say “Courtesy of Mok Ying Ren” but “www.facebook.com” instead.)

The Singapore contingent was on alert for a terrorist attack because they arrived the day after the Indonesian government announced they would execute the Bali Bombers.

A frightened Dinah Chan, left alone in an empty block of units with no guests in the resort the team were putting up in, decided to use the second single bed in Ying Ren’s room.

The Straits Times reported that this apparently contravened the Triathlon Association of Singapore code of conduct that does not allow opposite sexes to be in the same room with the door closed.

However, the form that Ying Ren signed which Red Sports saw was not specific on that point. It just stated that Ying was “expected to act, behave and exhibit correct decorum, befitting a national representative.”

So what triggered the story in the Straits Times?

It was related to two stories written by the Today newspaper (Triathletes under probe; Thursday, November 20, 2008; Still no word on triathletes’ fate, 70-plus days on; January 9, 2009) which revealed that the two triathletes had broken a code of conduct at the Bali Beach Games.

The natural question that comes up is this:

How did the Today newspaper even know about an internal disciplinary matter between the Singapore Sports Council and the Triathlon Association of Singapore?

Obviously, someone leaked it to Today and they went to print, forcing the hand of Straits Times to come up with this story today because an exclusive story in one paper triggers a similar one in a competitor.

This series of stories on Mok Ying Ren and Dinah Chan are just like the three-part series of stories the Straits Times did on the Li Jiawei and Ronald Susilo breakupwhich was even given front-page coverage.

Ying Ren though had no problems accepting the outcome of the disciplinary proceedings.

“TAS and SSC did a very fair job on the inquiry. They were very professional in carrying out the investigation and were very thorough and meticulous. The punishment was very fair and considered many factors.”

However, the unwanted press coverage certainly didn’t help Ying Ren, a medical student at the National University of Singapore.

“Personally, I was really affected,” said Ying Ren. “I had exams during the period (the Today articles came out). I had to answer many phone calls and smses. It was really a difficult period for me and Dinah.”

His reaction to the article in the Straits Times today?

“PRIME NEWS (section)! Never expected it,” wrote Ying Ren in an email to Red Sports. “(I) Thought it will just be in SWEAT (sports section). This is my largest article to date, even bigger than my SEA Games win.” © Red Sports