2/18/2015: Schefter Blows Up ESPN's Earlier Story

for those lazy folks

last time i went to a circus, i was 8. almost 30 years ago. this is a circus.

The Ref Association uses an AOL email address?

No NFL "Game Official" Weasel words.

Wait... the NFLRA Executive Director uses an aol.com email address for official business? This feels like a bigger scandal than anything else that has emerged since the start of deflategate.

Any proof that's an official referee association release?

Dr Pain said:

No NFL "Game Official" Weasel words.

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That's what I was thinking. Schefter didn't same a game official was fired. The qualification makes it sound like somebody was fired, they just don't consider him a game official. Like it matters, you can't trust any of them now.

VectorPrime said:

The Ref Association uses an AOL email address?

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The NFLPA still uses AltaVista as its preferred search engine.

wolverinejoe80 said:

@BartHubbuch: NFL Referees Association just issued a statement denying anyone has been fired and demanding an apology from ESPN.

https://mobile.twitter.com/BartHubbuch/status/568242830189191169

what is this mean? i'm confused.

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It means that there's apparently a hangup on the words "NFL employee" and "NFL official".

The unapproved kicking ball that sources told "Outside the Lines" that a Gillette Stadium officials' locker room attendant tried to introduce into the AFC Championship Game was handed to the man by an NFL employee, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Wednesday.

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A source told Schefter that the man in charge of collecting balls for charity has been fired by the league for selling the footballs meant for charity for a profit over a period of time.

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http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_...-room-attendant-kicking-game-ball-source-says


Edit: Jim Quirk seems to think the same thing. On WEEI, he stated that it's a "poor choice of words". He's neither confirming, nor denying, the underlying story about someone being fired. He's stating that, if it's something that has happened, it's not any member of the NFLRA.

Kdo5 said:

Why why why do Pats fans keep concerning themselves with ESPN. The network has made it blatantly clear that they will try to milk this story for whatever it is worth regardless of the contradictory reports. Unless you want to feel irritated, don't give that place any clicks.

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I absolutely agree with this- but I clicked this time. The comments section is epic (and over 200 posts again.) It's nice to watch it all crumble. And they keep trying to save it but can't. It's beautiful.

ausbacker said:

The NFLPA still uses AltaVista as it's preferred search engine.

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I hear they're working on getting a MySpace account.

I just did a Google search on "[email protected]" and got nothing. This is so funny. Goid I hope its fake so its one more thing to laugh at.

convertedpatsfan said:

The problem is that Mort and OTL are national, Reiss is regional.

The entire country sees incorrect reporting that the Patriots tried to cheat. The Boston market sees the correction.

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(A) That story is not by Reiss.
(B) That story is at the top of the sidebar list of stories on ESPN.com (i.e., the national feed).

Fencer said:

• It's not libel/slander in substance unless they were very irresponsible in their reporting, based on available info.

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That depends greatly on the status of the plaintiff. If the plaintiff is a "public figure", then it's only libel/slander if the defendant published false info knowing it was false or with a reckless disregard to whether or not it was false. If the plaintiff is not a public figure (and McNally would almost definitely not be considered one) the bar is significantly lower.

Why would they call it 'deflategate' on their 'official statement'. If this isnt fake then these referees are stupider than we all assumed.

ctpatsfan77 said:

(A) That story is not by Reiss.
(B) That story is at the top of the sidebar list of stories on ESPN.com (i.e., the national feed).

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That's a fair point.

Show416 said:

Why would they call it 'deflategate' on their 'official statement'. If this isnt fake then these referees are stupider than we all assumed.

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I did a quick check, and that logo doesn't match the one on the site. That could be meaningless, but the site requires a login, so that's as far as I could go.



Edit: Since Quirk is talking about it on the radio, the letter would seem to be genuine.

Apparently, WEEI is having Jim Quirk from the statement on their show now.

I dont have WEEI but can you guys tune in and give us updates.

Show416 said:

I dont have WEEI but can you guys tune in and give us updates.

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Do you have a computer?