Ruben Foster and Tyrann Mathieu: Getting It First Instead of Getting it Right
By Tony Breland
Reuben Foster and Tyrann Mathieu reminded us today that getting the story first isn’t in the same stadium as getting it right.
Over the weekend, Auburn University began fielding questions related to Jovan Robinson’s transcripts, which NCAA investigators think may have been falsified. Amidst the flurry of coverage, Michael Carvell of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution today sent the SEC football world abuzz with a provocative headline:
Twitter went wild, and several sports outlets blasted out their own attempts to cash in on the link-clicking bonanza. The BamaHammer staff emailed back and forth debating our own run with the story, deciding instead to wait and let the thing shake out, even if it meant getting left out of the coverage.
Since that time, the breathless reports have given way to chuckles of disbelief. Word now is that it was not the NCAA, but the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) that is talking with the Foster family. The updated story notes that Carvell is working to confirm his earlier report:
"When contacted around 1 p.m. Monday, Paige was asked directly if she was meeting with the NCAA and she replied, “Yes, how did you know?” There were reports later in the day, including by AuburnUndercover.com’s Bryan Matthews, that the meeting was with Alabama high school officials and not the NCAA. Paige has not responded to phone messages left for her after the meeting."
For whatever reason, Foster’s mom ain’t talking (perhaps because she either misspoke or was misquoted on such a public forum), so Carvell may just wrap up this news cycle with egg on his face. That’s okay, Mike; the whole thing was probably Nick Saban’s doing anyway.
Meanwhile, the inevitable navel-gazing about Tyrann Mathieu has begun in earnest. CBS Sports’ Tony Barnhart today lamented the fate of the ol’ Honey Badger, who he spins as a victim of the college sports media hype machine.
"But are the adults – consciously or subconsciously – leading some of these kids to believe they are bulletproof? Does the star system, which starts earlier and earlier in the lives of these talented young people, make them believe there will be no consequences to their actions?"
These stories follow a predictable pattern:
• Player is hyped well beyond his own actual abilities for the sake of ratings
• Media has a field day with made-up nickname they can use on game intros
• Media pounces on the story of athlete’s fall from grace
• Media ponders their own culpability while sniffing own odors
• New player emerges to be hyped beyond all reason
As if that weren’t bad enough, reports earlier today suggested Mathieu might sit out a year, get himself together, and enroll in LSU again next year on his own dime. What a feel-good comeback story! What redemption! The Honey Badger is this year’s Rudy!
Except that it ain’t so.
MATHIEU: I spoke to LSU compliance official Bo Bahnsen, who said Mathieu was permanently ineligible as did Miles. Vincent was not on phone.
— Glenn Guilbeau (@LSUBeatTweet) August 13, 2012
Look, competition in the sports reporting business is cutthroat. Jobs are getting scarcer, and the ability to cover news correctly and with accuracy is becoming less important to the bottom line that getting hits. So expect more, not less of days like this. Because tomorrow begins another news cycle, and the competition will begin anew. Sports media is a game, and all of you Twitter followers and link clickers are the trophy.
In sports news, just as with every other product you consume, let the buyer beware.