I am not exactly sure why, but Bishop Eddie Long just canceled his appearance on the Tom Joyner Morning Show (TJMS). Long was set to appear and interview with Roland Martin. I presume he was going to address the allegations of sexual coercion being made by two young males to whom Long was responsible for providing spiritual guidance.
On his Twitter page, Roland Martin had this to say:
"Got 2 hours sleep. Headed to LA radio studio. No Bishop Eddie L. Long this morning on Joyner after late cancellation."
Martin later said the following:
"I just texted Erica. Interview is off. Due to 3rd lawsuit, no Bishop Long. Only his attorneys will speak."
Actually, I think that the cancellation was a good move by Bishop Eddie Long. Right now, there's too much money at stake for Bishop Eddie Long to do much public speaking on his own behalf. B.J. Bernstein, the plaintiff's attorney, did a very good job of laying the case out on behalf of the other side, so while Bishop Long is quite convincing in his own right, the truth is that he should not be the one speaking in public right now.
The allegations against Bishop Long are disturbing, most certainly. His cancellation on TJMS reminds me of the same thing that happened three years ago when Michael Vick was going to address his dogfighting allegations. Vick also said that he was going to appear, only to cancel on the morning of the show. It's hard to know if the announcement-cancellation model is strategic. I wonder if there is an incentive for the accused to say, "I really wanted to go public to defend myself, but my darn lawyers told me not to. But the truth will eventually come out."
My question for both Bishop Long and everyone else involved in this case is, Will the truth ever really come out or will this suit be settled behind closed doors?
I would not be surprised if there were a significant (yet undisclosed) financial settlement offered in the case, with both parties agreeing not to discuss the case in public. Then, there would be a well-crafted explanation for PR purposes that many in Bishop's "flock" would accept to be the truth. I'm not here to say that Bishop Eddie Long is guilty or innocent of these charges, but I am here to say that his people deserve to know the truth,and not just hope that the Holy Spirit guides them to forgive Bishop Long and pray that his demons will go away. If you are being misled by your pastor, you deserve cold, hard facts, and not just fancy words.
The truth will either set you free or cost you a lot of money, Bishop Long. Which one will it be? Most of us say we want complete honesty, but most of the time, we really don't. The comfort of an impressive illusion can often be preferable to a flawed, dysfunctional reality.
Should it be the case that Eddie Long, the notoriously anti-gay pastor, is actually gay himself, I wonder how many in his congregation will simply overlook reality and focus their minds on painting an image of Bishop Long that fits the fantasy they've embraced for so long.
It's no different from a young boy believing that his mother is a virgin or a father believing that his 21-year-old daughter is a sweet, innocent little girl. The illusion is more comfortable, and given that my father is a pastor, I've seen up close how some in the church consciously and consistently live a complete lie in their day-to-day lives. So perhaps the willingness to so easily overlook any potential ethical misconduct on the part of Eddie Long is simply a reflection of the realities also being experienced by those who follow him.
Again, we don't know if Long is guilty for sure just yet, but after seeing the seemingly suggestive pictures that he sent to his "spiritual sons," I personally think some questions need to be answered. At the very least, I can say that if he were sending something like that to my child, there would be bloodshed in the church that day.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.