PressEthic

An evangelical minister stepped down from one of the largest congregations in the country after a male prostitute went public alleging the two had had a long-term affair.

Ted Haggard not only heads a 14,000-member church, he is the president of the National Association of Evangelicals. Haggard resigned his presidency from the organization and temporarily ceded leadership of the church he founded, according to The Denver Post. Haggard denies the affair.

As for the whistleblower's motivation, The Denver Post reported:

The former prostitute, Mike Jones, 49, of Denver, went public with the accusations on Tuesday, saying he felt compelled to do so because he believes Haggard, a strong opponent of same-sex unions, has been hypocritical. Haggard is married with five children, reported Eric Gorski, Felisa Cardona and Manny Gonzales.

‘I made myself cry and I made myself sick,’ Jones said about his decision to come forward. ‘I felt I owed this to the community. What he is saying is we are not worthy, but he is.’

Jones says he was contacted three years ago by Haggard for sex - he thinks through a gay newspaper advertisement or an online ad he posted on rentboy.com.

The reporters were shown an envelope with $200 and addressed to "Art," which Jones says was the name Haggard used for him. Jones also claims in the article he has damning voice mails.

Outing someone is a dicey matter, as it plays into stereotypes and prejudices. Ethically though, this is where our discussion in class went this afternoon, which is why I posted it. I think that this is a perfect example of those in class that supported certain cases when a person should be outed.

Haggard is a major player in the evangelical movement, appearing in numerous articles supporting gay marriage bans and siding with Focus on Family leader, James Dobson.

Seeing the minister's strong anti-gay stance, these reporters had the duty to publish the story. Not only for exposing Haggard's personal hypocrisy, but also for those 14,000 that follow and were defrauded by his message.