There are also reports that as many as 30 young men have contacted the plaintiff's attorney, BJ Bernstein, in an effort to file suits of their own or join the existing lawsuit.
Bishop Eddie Long's sex scandal has been in the headlines of national news for several days. Since the story broke, there have been suspicious pictures released that feature Bishop Long wearing muscle shirts and spandex, posing in the bathroom. Some have wondered why Long would send these images to his "spiritual sons."
On the Bishop Eddie Long sex fiasco, which I discussed this morning on MSNBC, there appear to be three angles of consideration: Legality, morality and hypocrisy. Legally, one has to determine if Long violated his fiduciary responsible to take care of the young men under his guidance. Secondly, there is the question of whether the men he may have slept with were of legal age and whether or not there was coercion.
In terms of morality, there is the obvious concern about a pastor preaching the bible on Sundays and violating biblical principles by allegedly committing adultery and sleeping with men. Many members of his congregation may not be happy to see any evidence that this is indeed the case.
Finally, there is the issue of hypocrisy. Bishop Eddie Long has gone out of his way to position himself as a pastor standing against gay rights. He has also been accused of pushing homosexuals out of the church. The idea that he may be gay himself certainly undermines his public credibility.
It appears that Bishop Eddie Long may become the Tiger Woods of the pulpit. It will be interesting to see where the case goes from here, and as I said two days ago, this is probably just the beginning.
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.