BISHOP LONG BUYS ACCUSERS SILENCE

He vowed to fight to the finish and clear his good name and reputation in a court of law. But now the checks have been cut and a gag order has silenced everyone for perpetuity.

Bishop Eddie Long, the Atlanta mega-church pastor who was accused by several young men of having inappropriate sexual relationships with them while they were still minors, has now purchased their silence in hopes that we all just forget about the sordid accusations levied against him.  As reported HERE a few weeks ago and despite some defensive antics to the contrary, Bishop Long never wanted a public trial, never wanted an embarrassing forum for these young men to disclose the intimate details of their relationships with him while they were still teens, never wanted to have to answer questions or defend his extremely poor decision making with these kids, that was beyond inexcusable.

His 4 accusers, Anthony Flagg, Spencer LeGrande, Jamal Parris and Maurice Robinson said Long often used lavish trips on his private jet, expensive gifts, jobs and celebrity access in order to entice them into sexual relations. To date, Long has never actually admitted nor denied the severe charges against him, instead choosing semantics to smooth things over with his 25,000 member congregation:  “I am not the man betrayed in the media” and “I feel like David against Goliath” is basically all he’s ever said.  Only now, that’s all he’ll ever have to say.

Due to the gag order, no one outside of Long, his accusers and all their attorneys know the full details of the settlement, but it is estimated to be a multi-million dollar payout — all with church money given to Long.  So in the end, it seems as though most everyone has come out a winner: these 4 young men may never have to worry about dollars or financial stability ever in their lifetime, while Bishop Eddie Long can continue raking in the big bucks while pastoring his Atlanta church as if nothing ever happened.

But isn’t there something still very wrong here?  Isn’t there something wrong with a system that allows a man, innocent or guilty, who’s been accused of sexual crimes against children to simply buy his way out of it?  And what about the thousands of other young teen aged boys who still attend his church and are under his wing and “guidance” just as the 4 accusers were? Are these teens safe, or should some government agency be keeping a watchful eye over Bishop Long and his flock of young boys just in the interest of being safe than sorry?

Incidentally, Rev. Bernice King, the daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and an elder and senior minister at Long’s New Birth Missionary Baptist Church for more than 8 years, has decided to leave the church to pursue other spiritual endeavors.  When asked during a recent radio interview if her decision to leave now has anything to do with Long’s financial settlement with his accusers, King did not directly answer the question. Instead, she only chose to say “I’ve always followed what I believed to be the voice of God and I’ve sought to be obedient to that voice.”

 Hmmm…