"If he was being paid for his De La Hoya work, then Borges should be told, in no uncertain terms to take his two-month suspension and keep right on walking out onto Morrissey Boulevard and not ever return. And his big buddy Union reps - who leapt to his defense in early March - can whistle Dixie on that one.
As one industry insider told us, “This would be like Borges writing for and being paid by Patriots.com, but still covering the team for the Globe.”
Only this is a worse ethical breach. De La Hoya is a one-man corporation. He’s not only a boxer, but a rising promoter, who Borges will clearly need to be dealing with for the foreseeable future if he continues to cover boxing.
In other words, where’s the objectivity? If Borges was paid by GoldenBoy promotions (and the credential and his seating at the event, would suggest he was), how will he ever be able to cover the boxer with any semblance of objectivity again? And even if he is able to separate his working relationship from his journalistic coverage, is this really the type of issue that the Boston Globe should be getting involved in? Especially considering the mistrust and skepticism that now exists for Borges and his work in the wake of his suspension and the “plagiarism” that Globe editor Martin Baron said the paper “does not tolerate.”
At the very least, it brings Borges decision-making back into question even before his suspension officially ends with his first Globe piece in 60-plus days."
