It’s one of those journalistic taboos, don’t become friends with the subjects you cover. However, when reporters are on a beat and see certain players or coaches every day, relationships are hashed and it’s how anonymous sources can be cultivated. In other cases, friendships are forged and in extreme cases, a player or a coach can get too close with a reporter.
As reporters from New England were gathered to cover Boston Red Sox sping training in Fort Myers, FL, rumors began to surface about the relationship between Comcast SportsNet reporter/host Jessica Moran and team manager John Farrell. On Friday, Moran abruptly resigned from the network texting a statement to the Boston Globe’s Mark Shanahan:
“I have stepped away from Comcast SportsNet as I thought it was in my best personal and professional interest to do so,” Moran wrote in a text to the Globe. “They have been extremely supportive during my tenure at the network — and with this decision — and I am very appreciative of that.”
Moran joined Comcast SportsNet New England in 2009 and has covered the Red Sox for most of her time with the network.
For his part, Farrell admitted he’s divorcing his wife Sue to whom he’s been married for 30 years, but admitted they’ve been separated for the last two years. They have three sons.
It’s a slippery slope when a reporter and a member of the team get together, but it has happened before especially with the Red Sox. Jenny Dell, now of CBS Sports, was removed from NESN in 2014 after her relationship with Will Middlebrooks became public. The two married this year.
And there have been unsubstantiated rumors about NESN sideline reporters and Red Sox players, which had to be debunked.
This is not to say it just happens to the Red Sox. In Miami, then-Marlins General Manager Dave Dombrowski got close to former ESPN’er Karie Ross who was a reporter for a local station. The two eventually married now Dombowski is the GM for the Red Sox.
As for Moran, she’s deleted her Twitter account and is being quiet for now. Farrell won’t go any farther than saying he’s getting a divorce and is asking for privacy.
