Caitlin Clark is perhaps the most-discussed athlete in the United States right now after breaking the all-time NCAA scoring record and marching toward another NCAA tournament run with the Iowa Hawkeyes. Her name recognition is at an all-time high. But that apparently does not extend to the spelling of her name. In a headline on Monday morning, Clark’s first name was puzzlingly botched in a headline by the long-running outlet Deadspin.
https://twitter.com/Deadspin/status/1764665633596412166
Deadspin did not post an editor’s note or update on the piece to reflect the fix.
The carved-out version of the G/O Media website, often referred to by media watchers as “Zombie Deadspin,” has stepped into trouble repeatedly since its staff walked out in 2020.
The site falsely referred to Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel as a “white guy” in a column arguing against his candidacy ahead of Black coaching candidates before correcting the article to acknowledge that McDaniel is, in fact, biracial. Former MLB pitcher Trevor Bauer sued Deadspin for defamation before the two sides ultimately settled. The site is one of many making use of AI-generated content, and has been roundly mocked for it, including by its own writers. Most recently, Deadspin was sued by the family of a young Kansas City Chiefs fan whom Deadspin writer Carron Phillips mistakenly accused of blackface over a costume featuring tribal paint with red and black coloring.
A misspelled headline is hardly the worst of Deadspin’s troubles, but the mistake is emblematic of the unseriousness of the website in 2024. A sports site botching the spelling of a hugely popular athlete in the headline of a column about that athlete is just brutal. Forgetting to delete the social media posts featuring the mistake is just chef’s-kiss perfect symbolism.
