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Patrice Ellerbe, Staff WriterLast Modified: 19:09 p.m. DST, 26 January 2014

MIAMI, Florida - Thursday morning, globally recognized teen pop star, Justin Bieber was arrested in Miami, Florida, stated CNN. According to police reports, Beiber was charged with driving under the influence, drag racing, and resisting arrest. Since the arrest, the media has labeled Bieber as a “misguided” teen.

Last week after a football game between the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers, the media threw out mixed feelings regarding statements made between Seahawks' cornerback, Richard Sherman and 49ers' receiver, Michael Crabtree.

According to reports, Sherman successfully completed the “play of the season.” Sherman tipped off a pass intended for Crabtree, allowing his team mate to intercept the ball, and sending the Seahawks to this year’s Super Bowl. After being overjoyed from the play, Sherman attempts to shake Crabtree’s hand, but Crabtree pushes him away by his face mask. Whether Sherman was being sincere or passive aggressive is up to the viewer, however, it doesn’t stop there.

During an interview after the game, Sherman stated “I’m the best cornerback in the game. When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that’s the result you going to get,” says ESPN.

Only days later, Bieber was arrested for his reckless behavior in Miami. Reports read that Bieber was simply a misguided teen, but when it came to Sherman, he was labeled a “thug.” Facts show Sherman, who is an All-Pro cornerback, graduated from Stanford with a 3.9 GPA. He has no criminal record, but simply called himself the best at what he does professionally.

Bieber is an international pop star, who did not graduate from high school. He has been caught in malicious acts and is constantly in the news. Bieber was arrested for a DUI, despite the fact that he is not of legal drinking age, plus he resisted arrest.

Society wants to throw out modern racism, but when situations like these surface, we are still able to see where it exists. Sherman, who is African-American did not deserve to be called a thug. It tarnished his professionalism, and diminished him as a man and an athlete. Although, Bieber's treatment by the media hasn't been positive either, being labeled as a “misguided kid” leaves room for improvement and does not alter the perception of the public that he was just being 'mischievous' versus criminal.

By contrast, Sherman, who has not perpetrated any crime, and was simply participating in his profession and leading his team to the Super Bowl, is labeled a thug. Most thugs typically have some criminal record. Sherman does not have a criminal record, but Bieber does. Most thugs also neglect to finish school, which Bieber has also done. The labels accorded by the media to these two are misleading, and thus illustrate the further misadventures of race in American media.

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Bieber, Sherman, and the Double Standard (thewrittenblit.com)
Who's The Thug? White America Turns Its Backs On Justin Bieber But Still Considers Richard Sherman A Goon (bossip.com)
PLAYER: 'Thug' the New 'N-Word'... (breitbart.com)
Seattle's Sherman fined $7875 for taunting - Boston.com (boston.com)
What People Say About Justin Bieber vs. What People Say About Richard Sherman (thewire.com)

Dario Macieira, Staff WriterLast Modified: 01:02 a.m. DST, 31 July 2013

WASHINGTON − In a three-day nation-wide sweep, members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in conjunction with other local, state, and federal officers, arrested 159 pimps and rescued 105 juvenile victims of forced prostitution. The action, named “Operation Cross Country VII”, has been the largest yet of the bureau’s Innocence Lost National Initiative. For comparison, a similar action in 2012 netted 104 arrests and 79 children rescued.

Ronald Hosko, who one year ago was promoted to the position of Assistant Director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, spoke to reporters at the FBI headquarters in Washington. In addition to the arrests, the operation included “129 seizures of cash, drugs, firearms… estimated to have a value of $165,000.”

The prostitution sting, which was conducted in cities all across the nation from Miami to Seattle, focused on several different venues for prostitution, both physical and digital, including: truck stops, casinos, motels, internet sites, and social media platforms. Websites such as backpage.com offer easy avenues for the advertisement of sex with children, despite the website’s stated cooperation with police. Raw footage from the operation shows police consulting these websites, including advertisements for escorts around the ages of 20 and 21, who are in fact much younger.

The children that become victims of forced prostitution often come from broken homes and impoverished backgrounds, making them very vulnerable to a pimp’s promises of money or affection. Many pimps began as victims’ boyfriends. Others help girls gain illegal entrance to the United States. Offers and affection the pimps give are quickly used to emotionally control their victims, to isolate them and prevent them from escaping. Some girls do not even come to see themselves as victims, despite the physical and mental abuse they suffer.

Alexandria, as a sixteen year old living on the street, was recruited into prostitution by an abusive boyfriend. At the time she believed she had no other options, remembering, “I called everybody, I need help, I called my family, I called my friends, I called everybody I knew and nobody picked up.” It would take her two years to find the courage to contact the FBI.

Despite the success of recent operations, the number of victims rescued pales in comparison with the number of children at risk of forced prostitution. The National Center for Exploited and Missing Children estimates the number of children annually at risk to be close to 100,000. Many come from states’ foster care systems, and have weak or non-existent ties with their families. Arresting pimps and freeing their victims only treats the symptoms the wider disease. More must be done to help vulnerable children avoid falling victim to sex-trafficking.

Follow Dario on Twitter Twitter: @nahmias_report Staff Writer: @dariomacieira