One of the silliest issues in the world of sports media is the issue of attribution. Not because it doesn’t matter — it absolutely does — and is a prominent part of good journalism. At the same time, it’s quite literally one of the easiest things you can do. If you’re aggregating a story, perhaps the easiest thing you can do is attribute a piece of information or quote to the author. It takes 10 seconds to do and it’s not only the right thing to do, but it’s a universal practice in the industry, something taught on the first day of journalism school.
You get the point. However, it appears that The Worldwide Leader in Sports did not.
During an airing of NFL Live this week, ESPN shared a quote from Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor. Harmless, right? No, this wasn’t a throwaway quote from a press conference, it was from an exclusive interview that Justin Melo did with Taylor for Sports Illustrated. The 24-year-old Taylor joined the Horseshoe Huddle and among other things, spoke highly of his new quarterback, Anthony Richardson.
“I was very excited. If you look at his skill set, the sky’s the limit for him. Now it’s all about coming in and absorbing the coaching aspect of it. He has to absorb the little nuggets of knowledge that our veterans are going to offer him…You look at the guys that are in the league now. He reminds me of Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson. Looking at the size component, you’d throw Cam Newton in there as well. He’s a physical threat”
ESPN pulled two separate quotes from the story without giving Melo his proper accreditation.
Naturally, he took to Twitter and called out the network.
https://twitter.com/JustinM_NFL/status/1656307027583418369?s=20
Melo credited NFL Twitter user Dov Kleiman for bringing his attention to ESPN’s use of his quote without attribution. Kleiman, a mysterious figure in the online sports world, has been criticized himself for not always sharing NFL stories with proper context.
ESPN didn’t do the bare minimum in this instance. And it wasn’t until Melo called out The Worldwide Leader, that attribution was offered. Unfortunately, it still missed the mark, as ESPN cited the Horseshoe Huddle, but not Melo, who covers the NFL and NFL Draft for The Draft Network. At the same time, it was only just a part of the quote that was shared on NFL Live and truly only had to do with the comparisons.
https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1656335618664718336?s=20
At the writing of this article, the network has not said anything, nor responded to Melo.
Giving people proper credit is truly the bare minimum. Hopefully, Melo eventually gets his from ESPN.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.