Ray Rice was suspended for 2 games and there was no outcry. Then the video came out. And suddenly it became a national outrage with an indefinite suspension and team release. Facts didn't change but the visceral reaction from video did.

Similar story with Kareem Hunt on the Chiefs. There's (unfortunately) lots of assault charges against football players. Most don't get released, especially not of that caliber. But there was a video for Hunt.

It's not just sports either. Al Franken and Donald Trump both had a lot of women accuse them of forcibly kissing them. Franken's accusations resonated more because there was a photo, even if the photo was (incorrectly) intended to be 'funny', rather than sexual.

Point being, when there's photographic evidence (not just pictures of text) it resonates a lot more. If there were audio of Scalley saying the same things, he wouldn't be able to recover, even though the events would be the same.

If Pugh had a bunch of people say he wore blackface and he admitted to it, but there were no photos? It wouldn't be such a hindrance to him getting a job