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Florida Gators Broadcaster Caught In Worst Story of the Day

Jan 20, 2010, 4:15 PM UTC

â†µAnd now for the sports media story everyone hates to write. â†µ

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â†µHave you ever watched the old HBO show Oz? People talk about The Wire being the greatest show of all time, but for my money, Oz was the HBO drama that started everything. There might be no Sopranos or Deadwood or, yes, The Wire if it wasn't for Oz. â†µ

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â†µAnyway, if you watched Oz, or for that matter any of those 'inside the prison life' documentaries on various cable networks throughout the years, you'd know that there's justice within the justice system. Everyone in prison is a convicted criminal – guilt is always subject to reasonable doubt – but inside the prison walls there is a sliding scale of criminality. Without question, at the bottom of that scale are people who abuse and exploit children. â†µ

â†µâ†µSo, basically, Steve Babik is screwed.â†µ

â†µâ†µBabik, the network coordinator for University of Florida athletics and host of their football pregame show, has been charged with receipt and distribution of child pornography and possession of said pornography.â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥Babik, 50, of Gainesville, has been fired from his UF job. He made his first court appearance at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the federal courthouse in Gainesville.â†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida, he “knowingly received, distributed and possessed materials depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct” on numerous dates from Nov. 2 to Nov. 30.â†µâ‡¥

â†µâ†µIf convicted, Babik could face up to 20 years in the clink for the distribution charge and another ten years for the possession charge. Both charges include hefty fines and lifetime probation.â†µ
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Obviously the University will be on lock-down mode with the quotes on this situation, but did release a statement. â†µâ†µâ‡¥“We were made aware of the investigation in late November and immediately suspended Steve Babik from his work responsibilities. Now that he has been charged, his employment has been terminated. We are deeply disturbed by the charges.”â†µâ†µState institutions have pretty specific rules about suspension and termination, so it looks like the University handled this in the swiftest and most direct way possible.â†µ

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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