Mike Reiss seems pissed off

Fencer · Jan 25, 2015

http://www.mikereiss.net/media-coverage-on-underinflated-footballs/

This was a very challenging week for many – from those directly involved with the Patriots, to those covering the team, to those with a passionate interest in the team.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it on many levels – the ferocity in which news spread, the venom with which some opinion was delivered, the obvious agendas of some and how those were promoted, the nastiness of Twitter at times — and in a moment of reflection this is a thought that is important for me to share:

There was a time when a reader could go to a certain place on the Web and know they were getting my take on the Patriots. The name of the blog actually included my last name, which further reinforced the personal aspect of it.

That personal feel (without the name) continued for a short period of time during a time of professional transition in 2009, but it’s important to me that followers know that has no longer been the case for a few years now.

My work now appears as part of a more general feed that pulls in stories and opinions (some that trend quite negative) from various sources within the company.

Ivan · Jan 25, 2015

Props to Reiss. He sold his soul to Satan, but at least realizes salvation is still available.

luuked · Jan 25, 2015

Classic case of either going with what your employer wants and getting paid or going the "journalistic integrity" route and finding a place that supports that/starting your own thing.

Given that he has a family to feed I can see how he is stuck between a rock and a hard place.

patriot lifer · Jan 25, 2015

Amongst other things, is he referring to internal corporate politics?

Username · Jan 25, 2015

I posted this in another thread, but it seems relevant here too so...

I'm done with ESPN. Done.

Only Adam Schefter has come out of this looking like an actual journalist. The rest of them got so caught up in the agenda and editorial they were pushing that all they did was report rumor, hearsay and ill informed opinion as fact and damned the Patriots with no evidence. It was a witch hunt and a feeding frenzy of the worst possible kind. They created the hysteria and they point blank refused to engage in any reasoned debate about what might have happened. They are all far more concerned about website hits and retweets than their laughable crusade to preserve the integrity of the game.

If sporting integrity was so important to them they would actually do some research and report fact instead of being glorified TMZ reporters. Even Mike Reiss has let himself down, which is very disappointing. I hope the Patriots organization remembers this and treats ESPN accordingly from now on.

nabwong · Jan 25, 2015

Time to email Reiss some words of support while still holding him accountable for his choices

Big-T · Jan 25, 2015

Reiss, Yates & Bru would all be wise to resign from ESPN, the 3 of them would walk into any media job they wanted and would no longer be working for such an embarrassing company.

Nonentity · Jan 25, 2015

I can see where he's coming from. And it's interesting that he's felt the need to write something on his own personal blog about it too.

Did anyone else notice that both Mike and Tom Curran had very similar reactions to Bill's press conference yesterday?

Mike Reiss said:
Yet most anyone, after Saturday and also recalling how Belichick initially addressed Aaron Hernandez's murder charge, could easily come to the conclusion that he is extremely proud of his program and the work that has gone into building it over those 15 years. And while he will accept the knocks for a bad misstep such as Hernandez, he won't simply sit by on an issue he finds much less trivial (yet still very much reputation-shaping) such as underinflated footballs, especially if he feels the team is wrongly targeted.

By so aggressively stating his case publicly, Belichick basically is saying “prove it” to the NFL, a league with which he has sparred with in the past.

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/new-.../this-was-no-it-is-what-it-is-news-conference

Tom Curran said:
Consider that the team-building for this season began in March, less than two months after the Patriots lost in the AFC Championship. Through conditioning, passing camps, free agency, the draft, rookie mini-camp, veteran mini-camp, training camp, a regular-season that – after four games, had most of the country leaving this team for dead – and two playoff games, this team, HIS team had accomplished all it could.

He knows better than anyone how hard it is to get to this point because he’s done it so many times. He knows how hard it is to finish it off. Better than anyone.

Yet, for a week, his team’s been rocked by a tsunami over ball pressure. And the investigation – which the league said it’s conducting “based on information that suggested that the game balls used by the New England Patriots were not properly inflated to levels required by the playing rules.”

On the eve of the biggest game of this season – one that is widely viewed as a chance for the Patriots to burnish their legacy – their integrity was being questioned. And – again – everything Belichick’s spent his life’s work building was being torn down by accusations the team cheated its way into this game.

http://www.csnne.com/new-england-patriots/left-no-choice-belichick-came-blasting-ropes

I won't pretend to know which beat reporters are buddies with each other, but you can easily imagine Mike and Tom talking last night and coming to the same view - that Bill is rightfully pissed off and he's not gonna put up with this **** anymore.

resdubwhite · Jan 25, 2015

As i recall. Mike wrote a piece earlier in the week about possible ramifications. Looks like he was an tiny bit premature there doesn't it.

Blackluck · Jan 25, 2015

I wrote this as comment to Mike's blog piece:

After all the talk this week about the integrity of the game, the one thing that became crystal clear is that the majority of the national sports media has none.

When you have major sports outlets and media personalities publically calling Bill Belichick and Tom Brady liars and cheaters without a shred of substantive evidence, then any credibility they have is forfeit.

The sad truth is though no one will hold them accountable. There will be no apology, no reflection and no reaction to the ugly mob mentality they helped unleash.

You are a rare exception in a profession that sorely lacks ethics and objectivity. Thank you for your thoughtful, balanced and fair reporting over the years.

Blackluck · Jan 25, 2015

resdubwhite said:
As i recall. Mike wrote a piece earlier in the week about possible ramifications. Looks like he was an tiny bit premature there doesn't it.

At least he owns up to it. This entire cluster**** has revealed the sports media for what they are, useless gossip mongers who more aptly belong on the National Enquirer.

Jackson 2 · Jan 25, 2015

I don't think people who know me would ever use "naive" as an adjective to describe me. Despite that, I think Mike Reiss is a moral, honorable stand-up guy. I don't know him, so I could be wrong but I doubt it. I still remember Squeaky and the Douchebag referring to him on the air as a fanboy, honk or some other such nonsense. Reiss called them on air and ripped them a new one politely, yet directly.

resdubwhite · Jan 25, 2015

Blackluck said:
At least he owns up to it. This entire cluster**** has revealed the sports media for what they are, useless gossip mongers who more aptly belong on the National Enquirer.

i think a retraction is the only honourable thing to do. The suggestion there was "pretty strong evidence" for a start.

vyrago · Jan 25, 2015

Blackluck said:
I wrote this as comment to Mike's blog piece:

After all the talk this week about the integrity of the game, the one thing that became crystal clear is that the majority of the national sports media has none.

When you have major sports outlets and media personalities publically calling Bill Belichick and Tom Brady liars and cheaters without a shred of substantive evidence, then any credibility they have is forfeit.

The sad truth is though no one will hold them accountable. There will be no apology, no reflection and no reaction to the ugly mob mentality they helped unleash.

You are a rare exception in a profession that sorely lacks ethics and objectivity. Thank you for your thoughtful, balanced and fair reporting over the years.

PrairiePat · Jan 25, 2015

Hey we all did a collective 'uh oh' when the original Mort leak came out. I think the article pretty accurately reflects what we were all thinking at that moment.

Looking back at it, I don't think Reiss's message was wrong (the Pats should be held accountable if they were manipulating the ball pressure after inspection), but the ESPN-chosen headline ("Pats should be held accountable" or something similar) conveniently skipped the IF part of the message, and made it appear that the Pats had already been found guilty. Last night's ESPN coverage of BB's press conference generated an article entitled "Belichick admits wrongdoing in Spygate". So on it goes.

It must be hard to work for the top company in your market when that company has an agenda to destroy the very thing you focus on. I'm sure BB is feeling the same about his organization these days (the NFL, not the Pats). But seriously, where else can these guys go to practice their craft?

vyrago · Jan 25, 2015

Good response B. I'm still waiting for the other incidents, besides camera placement-gate, that form this "pattern of cheating" to which these dolts constantly refer.

Though I know he's too much of an NFL toady to do it, Kraft should sue these dead-brains for slander.

Fencer · Jan 25, 2015

Jackson 2 said:
I don't think people who know me would ever use "naive" as an adjective to describe me. Despite that, I think Mike Reiss is a moral, honorable stand-up guy. I don't know him, so I could be wrong but I doubt it. I still remember Squeaky and the Douchebag referring to him on the air as a fanboy, honk or some other such nonsense. Reiss called them on air band ripped them a new one politely, yet directly.

And from last year, here's a blog post with a takedown of Felger --

Lester, Welker & the talk-show host | MikeReiss.net

Note the post title.

Rob0729 · Jan 25, 2015

It must be tough working for the same company as Mark Brunell and his shameless, self-serving display. From him crying on the air after Brady's press conference to him CPRing the football to get a feel of which test ball was deflated to claim how "obvious" it was to tell, Brunell put on quite a performance to trash the Patriots. And no one called him on it.

Fencer · Jan 25, 2015

resdubwhite said:
i think a retraction is the only honourable thing to do. The suggestion there was "pretty strong evidence" for a start.

He has to stick up for his colleague Mort, until Mort or the organization retract. That's fair. We also expect Patriots to stick up for each other.

SVN · Jan 25, 2015

resdubwhite said:
As i recall. Mike wrote a piece earlier in the week about possible ramifications. Looks like he was an tiny bit premature there doesn't it.

He addreses that in the blog with the headline he didnt decide.

Mike Reiss seems pissed off

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