A maligned hero passes on

Richard Jewell was found dead at his home today. He was the man who discovered Eric Rudolph's knapsack bomb at the 1996 Olympic Summer Games in Atlanta. He alerted police and helped evacuate the area before the bomb went off. His actions saved the lives of countless people. It's unfortunate that the media blew the leak that he as a suspect way out of proportion and maligned his name. Jewell was eventually cleared by the FBI, but the damage had been done from the FBI and the media picking apart his life and spewing it all over the newspapers and evening news.

Despite his lawsuits against a few news organizations, Jewell showed that he actually had a sense of humor about the entire debacle when he appeared on Saturday Night Live as himself. In a sketch, he decked Janet Reno (a re-occuring and unforgettable role played by Will Farrell) and participated in a Weekend Update interview to Norm Macdonald (video below).

Thank you for your quick-thinking and heroism, Mr. Jewell, and good-bye.