Thanks to Adam Schefter, who might be the biggest name in NFL journalism, we all know that Jason Pierre-Paul blew off his finger in a fireworks accident. We know this because Schefter tweeted a picture of Pierre-Paul’s medical chart, which was ethically questionable, but not illegal. Now, Sports Illustrated‘s Richard Deitsch has published a Q&A with Schefter (below a column on Caitlyn Jenner’s forthcoming ESPY).
Schefter isn’t forthcoming on every detail (nor can he be if he wants his sources to continue to leak information to him), but he paints a picture of himself as a journalist, justifiably excited about a major break in a story absolutely rotten with misinformation, jumping the gun on releasing sensitive information — it’s so easy to hit “send” on a tweet, after all — before either thinking it all the way through, or failing that, consulting with editors whose job it is to decide whether to run a story. Here’s what he said about initially publishing the photo:
This was a public figure and franchise player involved in a widely speculated accident with potential criminal behavior in which there was a cone of secrecy that surrounded him for five days that not even his own team could crack… The extent of his injuries were going to come to light, maybe that day or later that week, but soon. They’re horrific injuries, incredibly unfortunate for the player. But in a day and age in which pictures and videos tell stories and confirm facts, in which sources and their motives are routinely questioned, and in which reporters strive to be as accurate as possible, this was the ultimate supporting proof.
And on the ethical concerns:
I know news organizations are not governed by HIPAA [medical privacy] laws, but in hindsight I could and should have done even more here due to the sensitivity of the situation. We’ve got a great group of editors and production staff, and I could have leaned on them even more. ESPN has trusted me on any number of stories over the years, and granted me great latitude, fortunately. Sometimes in the fast-paced news world we live in, it’s easy to forget you should lean on the knowledge and experience of the people surrounding you. They’re always there for everything, but especially stories like this. On this one, there should have been even more discussion than there was due to the sensitivity of the story; that’s on me.
After years of covering the NFL, it’s no surprise that Schefter has learned the art of the non-apology apology, which accepts responsibility in the big words while deflecting it in the details. He never said he shouldn’t have posted it, he just referred to his editors as people who might have told him no. He said he “should have done even more,” which we should take to mean more consideration for the ethics, but for all the words he spent puffing up his integrity, the only regret he has is not seeking more counsel on integrity from people besides himself.
That’s not to fully say Schefter shouldn’t need his editors; that’s what they’re there for. Even though he expresses regrets, Schefter never admits he did anything wrong (classic NFL-speak), which calls into question whether he believes he did anything wrong. If he wanted to defend his actions, that’s what he should have done. Instead, all he did was the classic “I’m sorry you’re offended” move that defines the PR-obsessed hellscape that the ESPN-NFL nexus has become. That he seems to think and act the same way as those he’s supposed to hold accountable as a journalist is possibly more upsetting than the release of medical records, which still should never have happened.
(Via Sports Illustrated)
