Rams Coach Blasts ESPN Over Report On Michael Sam's Showering Habits

[JohnnyTheFox]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/rams-coach-blasts-espn-over-194958690.html

St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher has responded to ESPN's controversial report that discussed the showering habits of Michael Sam.
To say Fisher is not happy might be an understatement.

In comments made to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Fisher called the ESPN report "unethical" and "very, very unprofessional."

Among Fisher's accusations leveled against ESPN reporter Josina Anderson, who did the story for "SportsCenter:"

• She manufactured the story — "Obviously she came in, in all likelihood to see if there was gonna be a roster move at the 75 cutdown as it relates to Mike Sam. That didn't happen. But she needed to do something, and it's my understanding that she manufactured this story."
• She violated the team's media policy — "We have a media policy, and we're very flexible. We have open practices. Players are available. We have open locker rooms ... She was out of line because she went and contacted several players on their personal time."
• She misled the players she interviewed — "[She] misled them with questions and then put this piece together."

Fisher then leveled the most personal accusation, suggesting that Anderson just didn't know any better.

"I'm disappointed for Mike," Fisher told the Post-Dispatch. "I'm disappointed for the players who she put in this position, and mostly I'm disappointed for her because she felt what she was doing was right, and it wasn't right."

Fisher did say he appreciated ESPN's statement of regret following the report and added that ESPN president John Skipper personally reached out to apologize to the team.

 

[CashMan]

I hope ESPN is banned from the locker rooms, all over the NFL.

 

[big dog cowboy]

In comments made to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Fisher called the ESPN report "unethical" and "very, very unprofessional."

I'm shocked.

 

[Aikbach]

Sam turned himself into a gay rights crusade instead of a football player, of course gotcha journalism was going to transpire in an effort to sensationalize his publicly proclaimed sexual preferences as something the public needed to know about.

It was fluff piece stupid journalism, but it is hard to feel sorry for Sam, if his sexuality is no one's business then he shouldn't have decided to make it everyone's business.

Gay/ straight, I don't care, but i also don't have any empathy for someone that asked for attention because of their sexuality and then was taken aback when they got it.

 

[Idgit]

Wait...ESPN did something sensational? And they manufactured a story? You don't say?

How anybody could be surprised by this is beyond me. Good for Fisher for sticking up for his locker room and sticking up for his player.

 

[Future]

Sam turned himself into a gay rights crusade instead of a football player, of course gotcha journalism was going to transpire in an effort to sensationalize his publicly proclaimed sexual preferences as something the public needed to know about.

It was fluff piece stupid journalism, but it is hard to feel sorry for Sam, if his sexuality is no one's business then he shouldn't have decided to make it everyone's business.

Gay/ straight, I don't care, but i also don't have any empathy for someone that asked for attention because of their sexuality and then was taken aback when they got it.

He never really did any of that. People make the argument that the kiss was excessive and blah blah blah....but lots of draft picks kiss their girlfriend, just b/c he's gay doesn't mean he shouldn't be able to kiss is partner without being accused of being a crusader.

 

[CashMan]

Sam turned himself into a gay rights crusade instead of a football player, of course gotcha journalism was going to transpire in an effort to sensationalize his publicly proclaimed sexual preferences as something the public needed to know about.

It was fluff piece stupid journalism, but it is hard to feel sorry for Sam, if his sexuality is no one's business then he shouldn't have decided to make it everyone's business.

Gay/ straight, I don't care, but i also don't have any empathy for someone that asked for attention because of their sexuality and then was taken aback when they got it.

He did not ask for attention. What he did, coming out before the draft, let teams know, what they were getting, before he was drafted.

 

[BAZ]

Yeah, didn't he get tipped off that the information was gonna come out anyway, so to speak. I don't think he planned on being a gay crusader, it was thrust upon him.

The moron that reported this should be fired, the producer that OK it and put it on TV should be fired. Everything about this story is greasy, if ESPN had shame they should be ashamed by this whole debacle.

 

[DallasEast]

http://i356.***BLOCKED***/albums/oo4/DallasEast1701/bssportscenter_zps4e3de498.jpg​

 

[Aikbach]

He did not ask for attention. What he did, coming out before the draft, let teams know, what they were getting, before he was drafted.

Yeah ok, i have some ocean front property in Arizona I'd like you check out.

 

[dargonking999]

Sam turned himself into a gay rights crusade instead of a football player, of course gotcha journalism was going to transpire in an effort to sensationalize his publicly proclaimed sexual preferences as something the public needed to know about.

It was fluff piece stupid journalism, but it is hard to feel sorry for Sam, if his sexuality is no one's business then he shouldn't have decided to make it everyone's business.

Gay/ straight, I don't care, but i also don't have any empathy for someone that asked for attention because of their sexuality and then was taken aback when they got it.

So him telling everyone he's gay before he was drafted, gives reporters the right to lie to and about his teammates, falsify stories, and create a fabricated story? And because he announced that he was gay, his coach and fellow players can't stand up and speak out against such disrespectful "news" reporting? I get it now. He made the announcement that he's gay, so he should be prepared for ESPN to run a story about his showering habits that was pretty much made up and false, and no one can come to his defense because he asked for it. I'll keep that in mind, thanks for the knowledge buddy.

 

[Doomsday101]

I don't care if the guy is gay or not ESPN has once again showed themselves as unprofessional. Sam is a football player period who he lives with or sleeps with has nothing what so ever to do with the game. His shower habits? give me a break.

 

[trickblue]

They should suspend programming for a week... that's how they seem to handle their reporters...

 

[CashMan]

I don't care if the guy is gay or not ESPN has once again showed themselves as unprofessional. Sam is a football player period who he lives with or sleeps with has nothing what so ever to do with the game. His shower habits? give me a break.

I agree, and I thought him skipping the Oprah show, and him saying, "I will not be the poster child".

IMO, him being gay or straight is not a big deal. I could care less, it doesn't affect me, either way. I just do not like attention on things for stupid reasons. Talk about, how a penalty for smoking weed, carries a bigger punishment, than a football player beating up his wife/girlfriend.

 

[Doomsday101]

I agree, and I thought him skipping the Oprah show, and him saying, "I will not be the poster child".

IMO, him being gay or straight is not a big deal. I could care less, it doesn't affect me, either way. I just do not like attention on things for stupid reasons. Talk about, how a penalty for smoking weed, carries a bigger punishment, than a football player beating up his wife/girlfriend.

I had no issue with Sam saying he was gay, I think it was better for him to get it out of the way instead of accusation being thrown around later on. Aikman had to defend himself on rumors by the press for Sam it is now in the open and I think by and large it is not a big deal.

 

[dargonking999]

I had no issue with Sam saying he was gay, I think it was better for him to get it out of the way instead of accusation being thrown around later on. Aikman had to defend himself on rumors by the press for Sam it is now in the open and I think by and large it is not a big deal.

Like Long said, everyone is over it, but ESPN

 

[Doomsday101]

Like Long said, everyone is over it, but ESPN

True because they want to be able to do a story as they say "outside the lines." I say judge the football player by his play on the field and as long as his action off the field are not against NFL policy or the law then I have no issue with who that player is having a relationship with.

 

[DallasEast]

This is depressingly sad. For decades, female journalists have worked extremely hard in achieving equal access to male athletes within a male dominated environment.Then along comes a young woman, who undermines all the hard work gained by her predecessors by falsifying a story centering upon that very same male domain--just to boost her own career. Selfish. Pathetic. I hope her female peers pester her about this for a a very long time.

 

[Future]

This is depressingly sad. For decades, female journalists have worked extremely hard in achieving equal access to male athletes within a male dominated environment.Then along comes a young woman, who undermines all the hard work gained by her predecessors by falsifying a story centering upon that very same male domain--just to boost her own career. Selfish. Pathetic. I hope her female peers pester her about this for a a very long time.

That's one angle...

I tend to think that ESPN producers make that call. Hard to say really.

 

[DallasEast]

That's one angle...

I tend to think that ESPN producers make that call. Hard to say really.

In my opinion, that's conceivable if a reporter was not involved. However, one was involved in this case.

The aftermath of this false report falls squarely upon the reporter's shoulders. No matter what I may think of them, media representatives are intelligent individuals. In my highest opinion, intelligent people do not "take the fall" and harm their own careers willingly. If there were some sort of substantial monetary incentive to compensate the reporter for sticking a fork in her own professional reputation, I can maybe see the producer angle.