Manish Mehta’s time as the New York Jets beat writer for the New York Daily News is over. The paper tweeted the news on Thursday.
Manish Mehta has been removed from the New York Jets beat. Coverage of the team will continue uninterrupted.
— NY Daily News Sports (@NYDNSports) December 10, 2020
Last month, current FTW and former NYDN writer Charles Johnson accused Mehta of using his observations from Jets practice and training camp without giving Johnson credit and also funneling Johnson questions for press conferences (which he also wrote up as if he had been the one to ask the questions).
That’s just the tip of the iceberg regarding Mehta’s often contentious relationship with the team, which reportedly resulted in his credentials being pulled over the summer.
Over the years, Mehta has gotten into it with several figures around the Jets, including the mother of former defensive tackle Muhammad Wilkerson (after he accused Wilkerson of having issues with alcohol) and former coach Rex Ryan, and also completely botched a report about NFL Network and Fox reporter Peter Schrager. He also was accused of running an Adam Gase burner account, which is a pretty pathetic move from any reporter.
After all that, it’s stunning that it took until Week 14 of the 2020 season for the NYDN to pull Mehta from the beat. As far as we can tell, Mehta’s future role at the paper hasn’t been announced.
