ESPN has apologized for an embarrassing segment in which reporter Josina Anderson spent over 30 seconds analyzing Michael Sam’s showering habits within the St. Louis Rams’ dressing room, but Rams head coach Jeff Fisher is still pissed.
From Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
“I’m extremely disappointed in her piece,” Fisher [said] on Wednesday, not long before the team boarded buses for Lambert Airport and the trip to Miami for Thursday’s preseason finale.
“I think it’s unethical,” Fisher continued. “I think it’s very, very unprofessional. Not only the piece itself, the content. The manner in which she did it.”
He’s absolutely correct, of course. Anderson’s quotes from Sam’s teammates indicate the players she spoke to wanted nothing to do with the subject. She only paraphrases one anonymous player and it’s clear she’s basically being humored by Kendall Langford and Alec Ogletree.
And it gets worse.
Fisher did appreciate the apology, according to Thomas, who also noted that the organization received an apology in a phone call from ESPN president John Skipper. But Fisher also claims Anderson took a shady approach to putting together the story in the first place.
“Obviously she came in, in all likelihood to see if there was gonna be a roster move at the 75 cutdown as it relates to Mike Sam. That didn’t happen. But she needed to do something, and it’s my understanding that she manufactured this story.
“She was out of line because she went and contacted several players on their personal time. Misled them with questions and then put this piece together.”
It’s worth noting that Fisher’s assertion that Anderson initiated the shower talk contradicts ESPN’s initial statement given to Jay Busbee of Yahoo! Sports.
ESPN statement on Sam/shower story: "In response to recent questions about Sam fitting in with the team, multiple Rams brought up…" (1/2)
— Jay Busbee (@jaybusbee) August 26, 2014
"…the shower topic and we relayed that information as part of our reporting." (ESPN on Sam/shower, 2/2)
— Jay Busbee (@jaybusbee) August 26, 2014
I don’t necessarily feel as though reaching out to players privately is poor form, but it does certainly feel as though this story was manufactured with an agenda in play. If indeed that’s how things went down, good on Fisher for calling Anderson and her employer out on it.
If it isn’t and these players really did spark the shower talk — and it’s probably only a matter of time before Langford and/or Ogletree are asked whether or not that was the case — then Anderson’s report was still ridiculous, but Fisher’s criticism won’t hold as much water.