Big sports news sometimes breaks from surprising sources. Whether that’s anonymous Twitter/X accounts, message board posts, or employees who learn something surprising at a different day job, news can come out in unusual ways. And some small media outlets can certainly break news against big competitors.
That history of unlikely scoops is why while a report from independent Atlanta United website Scarves and Spikes Sunday on an upcoming MLS-backed women’s soccer league (including a potential merger with the NWSL) was surprising, it was at least possible to imagine that they’d somehow beat those who regularly cover MLS and the NWSL at a league level. That believability is what led to the report being shared widely across social media platforms and message boards, including Reddit.
Here’s a screenshot of what this initial report looked like, from a Slack embed:
But, on Monday, the publication recanted that report and completely deleted the post. The link now provides a 404 error. They put out a separate statement explaining what happened.
Scarves and Spikes prides itself on being a reliable source of coverage for news about Atlanta United and MLS as a whole.
That said, we don’t want to be afraid to admit when we’ve missed the mark, and this is one of those times.
On Sunday night, we published a story from a writer who did his best to follow ethical reporting guidelines based on information from numerous sources he was in contact with. We’ve made the decision to retract that story.
We never intended to disseminate inaccurate reporting — our goal is to build your trust, and we are committed to improving our editing and fact-checking protocols to ensure the accuracy of our reporting. We always strive to provide accurate reporting that meets long-standing industry standards and we will work hard to ensure our work better reflects that going forward.
The public retraction and apology are commendable but many elements of Scarves and Spikes’ handling of this can be criticized.
One is deleting the post entirely rather than leaving it up with that retraction and apology at the start. That decision means those who didn’t initially see the story don’t know what it contained. And that link now only pointing to a 404 error means that those who come across this from another site later may not realize what happened here.
Social media’s spread of a story carries a similar problem to wire service reports or photos, where initial information is picked up elsewhere, sometimes in problematic ways, and doesn’t take corrections or retractions into account. And this story certainly got social media spread.
Beyond that, there’s the potential significance of this story and the apparent lack of significant editorial oversight. MLS launching or backing its own women’s professional league to compete with or merge with (which the story also suggested) the likes of the NWSL in the U.S. and the coming Northern Super League in Canada would be a massive story. And it’s one with impacts on players, executives, and fans of the existing leagues.
Getting a story of that significance completely wrong is a much bigger deal than floating a transfer rumor or injury report that turns out not quite right. A story of this magnitude should have received a high level of skeptical oversight and verification before publication.
Some of the feedback Scarves and Spikes drew for their Twitter posts with this statement raises further questions about their process.
“A writer who did his best” he is sixteen years old. The standard of journalistic rigor does not rest on that teenager. This is so embarrassing for every single adult involved. https://t.co/BVZtWkWtfo
— Julia Poe (@byjuliapoe) August 13, 2024
This site did a very young journalist a huge disservice. I hope they extend the apology to him as well for not providing the guidance and oversight necessary on such a big story. https://t.co/thoaPSlXxE
— Jenna Tonelli (@jennatonelli) August 12, 2024
Hopefully a lesson to be learned across the board.
I know what it’s like trying to carve a name for yourself while feeling like an imposter, but there just has to be an understanding that a story of that magnitude has to be properly vetted. That’s on the editorial staff too. https://t.co/OyZeblweQY
— Justin Horneker (@hornekerjustin) August 13, 2024
Anyone in journalism: CHECK YOUR SOURCES before even publishing a report of the magnitude of a MLS/NWSL merger.
And also, don’t let a kid even write an article like this knowing the potential legal ramifications. Yes, I get he had sources but we don’t know if they’re RELIABLE!!! https://t.co/RpFzc2U40r
— SaltyHylian (@SaltyHylian) August 13, 2024
While the age and inexperience of the writer here might certainly be part of the problem, young writers aren’t alone in sometimes falling for stories that ultimately prove absurd. On the league front, that was well-demonstrated this year when veteran hockey podcaster Steven “Steve Dangle” Glynn tried to break news on a new 3-on-3 hockey league, which appears far from being a real thing. (Glynn subsequently retracted that report and apologized.)
There have also been many longtime journalists who have gotten major things wrong, even with layers of oversight. And that definitely can happen when a seemingly trustworthy source gets something wrong. Mistakes happen, and they happen to almost everyone, including this site.
But this was a particularly bad mistake considering the stakes. The report alone raised a lot of questions and uncertainty for a lot of people involved with women’s soccer. The way the error and the response played out also isn’t a great look for Scarves and Spikes.
