On the day Stephen Curry breaks the all-time three-point record against the New York Knicks, former New York Times (and ESPN) NBA correspondent Marc Stein reported via his Substack newsletter that Curry’s inner circle wanted him to be drafted by the Knicks instead of the Warriors. While those in the Curry camp were glad that he wound up at the Warriors, it’s an interesting footnote on a night that Curry is breaking a record against that same team he once wanted to go to.
A story like that, it’s going to be talked about and written about throughout the sports media industry. A media outlet will write about or discuss the story, put their own unique and individual voice into that story, and then credit the original source of that story.
ESPN’s @SportsCenter Twitter account posted a graphic discussing Stein’s report and while they credited Stein, they didn’t tag him in the post. That was something Stein took issue with and replied to the account to tag his Twitter account next time.
Thanks for reading. Next time perhaps you’ll graduate to including my actual handle since you guys saw fit to use this content for two tweets. @TheSteinLine. Simple courtesy.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) December 15, 2021
This isn’t the first time ESPN has had a problem with attributing a quote to the original source on their social media channels. Nearly three months ago, Tom Brady had the same issue as Stein and responded similarly after @SportsCenter didn’t include a link to Brady’s podcast or tag Brady in a post that consisted of a quote from his Let’s Go! podcast.
This might seem petty to make a public deal out of this but Stein is working hard like any other reporter. And being tagged from an account that has 38.7 million followers means a chance for Stein to gain some followers and maybe gain some subscribers to his Substack. Stein might no longer be an ESPN employee and maybe linking to his Substack might be going above and beyond the call of duty but given how ESPN is able to tag other leagues, other athletes, and even fans to give credit when it’s warranted, not tagging Stein for this seems like a rather notable oversight.
About Phillip Bupp
Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them.
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