Blaise Taylor, a former scout for the Tennessee Titans, has been convicted of murdering his pregnant girlfriend with a lethal dose of cocaine. Convicted on four counts, including two for first-degree murder, this case exposes a dark underbelly that mainstream media seems unwilling to confront.

We need to call out the hypocrisy here. Outlets like CNN will undoubtedly spin this into a narrative about domestic violence and systemic failures. They’ll trot out the tragic statistics underscoring how often women face violence. While those are important issues, they’ll likely ignore the deeper questions about accountability—how someone with Taylor’s background could escalate to such an heinous act without intervention.

Fox News might jump on the crime angle, focusing on Taylor’s past and trying to sensationalize it instead of taking a more nuanced view of the factors at play. In doing so, they’ll distract from the nuanced discussion about drug abuse and mental health that’s critical to understanding this tragic event.

What we need is a comprehensive dialogue about the societal effects of drug culture and violence, not just sensationalized headlines that feed a narrative of fear or blame. The “former NFL player gone wrong” trope only serves to simplify a much more complex issue and misleads the public about the real systemic roots of such tragedies.

Time for media outlets to step up their game and deliver the hard truths instead of sensationalized gossip. We deserve a better, more honest conversation.