The troubles of Dominic Carter, a prominent anchorman for New York 1 in New York City, seem to be getting larger by the second. After being charged with domestic violence for allegedly abusing his wife, Carter was fired by New York 1 after it was reported in the New York Daily News that he attempted to name-drop his way out of trouble.

According to the Daily News, Carter mentioned his relationship with New York's big shots, including Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, to persuade a judge to bury his domestic violence charge. Bad move, my friend.

Dominic Carter's situation brings several thoughts to mind, some in his favor, some not:

1) You fired him based on what you read in the New York Daily News? This firing reminds me of the unjust removal of Dr. Marc Lamont Hill from FOX News. In both cases, there does not appear to have been a hearing to determine if the allegations were true. There also does not appear to have been any attempt to understand the perspective of the journalists involved -- just a unilateral decision to undermine a professional's ability to feed his family. This is wrong, not because Carter is innocent (I have no idea), but because journalistic integrity demands that New York 1 do its homework. By firing Carter on the spot as a result of an article in another media outlet, New York 1 executives are showing the same lack of professionalism that they are accusing Carter of. Other reporters working for New York 1 should be put on notice regarding Carter's treatment and the lack of loyalty shown by their employer.

2) With Carter's wife, which story is it? According to media reports, Carter's wife, Marilyn, is now saying that she lied about being attacked by her husband. Now, most of us are smart enough to know that she might be lying about lying. There are thousands of cases in which abused women will lie their way in to a casket, protecting a man who eventually hurts them even worse than he did before. There is also the possibility, though, that she is telling the truth about lying the first time, since there are also women who will use domestic violence fairy tales to exact revenge on their lover. What is clear is that Marilyn Carter has undermined her own credibility by either lying now or lying in the past. Either way, she is a liar. If that's the case, then I am not sure Carter deserves to be fired or have his named dragged through the mud. We should find out the facts first.

3) What if Carter really is beating his wife? If Carter was indeed physically abusing his wife, then I have no respect for him. A man should never put his hands on a woman. It is my greatest hope that he has not allowed something as ridiculous as domestic violence to ruin an otherwise brilliant career in media. Similarly, love is quite complicated and situations can escalate out of control. When a relationship gets to the point of being violent, though, somebody needs to get the heck out.

4) What can we all learn from this? The first lesson is that irresponsible behavior always catches up with you. This is not to say that Carter should be a perfect man, but the truth is that if he is engaged in spousal abuse, there is simply no excuse for exhibiting such cowardly behavior. Second, if he found himself attempting to name-drop his way out of the same justice system that we all must endure, then he is no better than other unethical individuals who feel above the law. We must also remember, however, that we all make mistakes, and those mistakes get magnified for those on the largest stage. If Carter has a problem with domestic violence, I encourage him to get the help that he needs.

New York 1 should have displayed a bit more sympathy toward Carter's situation, if not a bit more loyalty. I am not sure if Carter's disrespectful treatment was due to his race, but I find it ironic that Rush Limbaugh can get addicted to drugs, Don Imus can refer to black women as "nappy headed hoes" and commentator Marv Albert can make a comeback after being charged with really freaky sexual assault. I'd be hopeful that a little name dropping would not be considered appropriate justification for ruining the career of a hard-working journalist. A commitment to journalistic integrity requires that you go deeper than an article in the New York Daily News before handing down such a harsh decision. To use the misguided words of President Obama (who also made a mistake by speaking strongly on an issue that he was not yet prepared to address), New York 1 "acted stupidly" in the dismissal of Dominic Carter. There's not much more to say than that.


Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University and founder of the Your Black World Coalition. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.