Long Cancels Talk with “The Tom Joyner Morning Show”
A scheduled interview Thursday on “The Tom Joyner Morning Show” with embattled mega-church pastor Bishop Eddie Long was canceled by representatives for the minister after a third lawsuit was filed accusing Long of using his position to coerce a young man into a sexual relationship.
Craig Gillen, Long’s lawyer, told the TJMS’ Roland Martin that,“No lawyer likes to have his client in a situation where charges are made, and he, the lawyer, doesn’t have control,” Gillen said. “These false allegations are an attack on Bishop Long personally; they are an attack on New Birth, the entire church and all 25,000 of the good people that attend that church – and an attack on the mentor program that has helped thousands of young men.”
Lawyers for Maurice Robinson and Anthony Flagg filed a lawsuit Tuesday in DeKalb County Court against the pastor, alleging that the used his role as pastor of a suburban Atlanta mega-church to force them into sexual relationships when they were teenagers.
Another suit was filed Wednesday against, alleging coercion, negligence and fraud involving a third man. That lawsuit alleges Long encouraged the plaintiff, Jamal Parris, 23, to call him “Daddy,” and names the church and a youth academy as defendants.
On Wednesday, B.J. Bernstein, the lead attorney for Robinson and Flagg, now 20 and 21, told Roland Martin on “The Tom Joyner Morning Show” that she had e-mails that showed the extent of the relationship between the plaintiffs and Long and that there were multiple private e-mail addresses belonging to the bishop used for contact with the men.
The men were 17- and 18-year-old members of Long’s New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia, when, they say, Long abused his spiritual authority to seduce them with cars, money, clothes, jewelry, international trips and access to celebrities.
Bernstein said by filing the lawsuit, the plaintiffs’ attorneys will be able to subpoena phone and other records to corroborate the men’s stories.
The plaintiffs will be deposed by Long’s attorneys in the next phase of the legal process.
In addition to the e-mails, Bernstein said she has a plaintiff’s passport which corroborates dates and locations for trips where, the men allege, they shared rooms with Long and engaged in sex.
Bernstein also said she had IRS 1040 forms that showed the men were on the church payroll while still teenagers.
On Thursday morning, Gillen read a statement from Long denying the allegations and saying that he would address them in front of his congregation at New Birth at the 11 a.m. service on Sunday.
“Long is going to do it on his ground, at his church, where he’s going to have 25,000 rah, rah, rahing him,” said a minister of more than 30 years who has pastored in Atlanta, including counseling on issues of sexuality and sexual abuse, and has known Long for most of that time. “Most pastors are not surprised (by the charges). This happens all the time,” said the minister, who asked not to be identified.
“People are people, and we have those people as our religious icons, and we don’t talk about it,’ the minister said, pointing to multiple instances in which religious leaders – from Elijah Muhammad to Jimmy Swaggart to the former president of the National Baptist Convention – all were implicated in sex scandals.
The minister also said it would not be surprising if the congregation rallies behind Long.
“People forgive their pastors, and they’ll keep them,” adding there is a “double-moral standard” and that had the accusers been women, “they would be run out on a rail and never heard from again … These thins happen, but we run to vilify the victims.”
Others cautioned that Long has not been proven guilty of the allegations, but maintain there could still be a negative impact on the black church and its relationship with gay members. Long has been a vocal opponent of gay marriage, defining marriage as between a man and a woman, which leads many people to assume was also an opposition to homosexual relationships period.
“I know it will have a negative effect on the black church. We’ve always had homosexuality in the black church, from the minister of music to other members of the church, but we’ve never paid attention to it as long as they performed the services well,” said the Rev. Melvin D. Bishop, Ph.D, pastor of New Light Baptist Church of Bessemer, Alabama. “However, Bishop Long has yet to be proven guilty. My first thought when I saw it on the media was when you have money and appear to be flashy, people want to get all they can get from you. We don’t know if he did it or not. We always have that copycat thing; we know the Catholic church has always led the way of such accusations. We just hope it is not true. If it is true, it will definitely be a blow to the black church.”
“The first thing that came to mind were the incidents in the Roman Catholic Church,” said the Rev. Michael Newton, pastor of Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Fairfield, Alabama. “I think that we have tolerated and allowed so many things. This is another sidebar to it. I think his supporters will continue to support him. I think we have to realize they are just allegations that have to be proven in court. If I were to address his congregation, I would say, ‘It’s time just to be prayerful until all the facts are in on this situation.’ I’m sure God is not pleased with it. It is something his congregation will need to deal with in the near future.”
When asked about a possible motive for the accusations, Gillen referred to a break-in at Long’s office in June.
Bergstein said one of the plaintiffs is facing a criminal burglary charge in the incident. She said the break-in was a way of lashing out at Long.
Bernstein said she contacted the U.S. Attorney’s Office earlier this month when she became aware of the young men’s allegations. She did not know what action, if any, the agency planned to take.
Source: www.blackamericaweb.com
Gavette Richardson contributed to this article.
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