There’s no questioning that No. 3 Ohio State enjoyed a dominant defensive performance in its 20-12 victory over No. 7 Penn State on Saturday.
But while no one could fault an outlet for focusing on the Buckeyes’ defense following the game, The Columbus Dispatch used an unfortunate double entendre to describe it.
“No. 3 Ohio St. rides ‘D’ to win over No. 7 Penn St,” the headline of Bill Rabinowitz’s game story in the Sunday edition of the Dispatch reads.
As the kids say: Phrasing.
Social media users were quick to point out the suggestive nature of the reference (for the uninitiated, Urban Dictionary might help). For what it’s worth, the headline on the web version of the same story currently reads: “Ohio State football rides staunch defense to 20-12 win over Penn State.” It’s unclear whether the print version was simply cut down for space, or whether the web version was updated after the double entendre was first pointed out.
The error — which is admittedly just as minor as it is humorous — comes amid a football season in which the Dispatch‘s parent company, Gannett, has come under fire for its use of A.I. generated stories. Gannett has since paused the program following an inexplicably ill-prepared launch that included incomplete and overly generic high school football stories in the Dispatch.
While there’s nothing to suggest that this headline was the result of A.I., it is worth wondering how it made it to print. One would imagine that there would be enough checks and balances in the Dispatch‘s editorial process to prevent such gaffes from reaching the final product.
If nothing else, the Dispatch provided an unlikely souvenir for what also happened to be one of the Buckeyes’ biggest wins of the season. Hey, who says newspapers are no longer relevant?
