Goose Creek coach, Jayson Blair, reflects on the scandal at The New York Times that lead to his resignation and, later, his career in life coaching in an interview with his hometown online newspaper, The Columbia Patch.
Jayson was 22 at the time at the time he was hired as an intern reporter at The Times. He was quickly promoted to intermediate reporter, then full reporter and then seconded to the national staff after the September 11 attacks. Before and following the September 11 attacks, Blair struggled with drug addiction. After being sober, Blair was hit by a wave of
mental health issues that contributed to both a plagiarism and fabrication scandal and his future career. He was 27 at the time of his resignation, approximately 10 years from today, in 2003.
In the interview, Jayson offers a message of hope, saying, in part, “”I think an anniversary is sort of an artificial thing. It brings back memories both good and bad. It was a terrible time in my life 10 years ago. I had absolutely no hope, no direction.”
Jayson adds that bipolar disorder, which he was diagnosed with later in 2003, does not excuse his actions. “It didn’t explain why I did what I did, that had to do with character issues,” he said, adding, “I’m rebuilding my life and helping people with mental health problems,” said Blair. “I never would have imagined I made as much progress as I have, but there’s always going to be some regret about my actions.”
Read more on the Columbia Patch:
http://columbia.patch.com/articles/jaysonblairtalkson10yearanniversaryofresignation
Jayson can be reached at (703) 574-6271.
