Total Pro Sports
Former ESPN reporter Sarah Spain has questioned the journalistic credibility of two of the biggest names at the company in Stephen A Smith and Pat McAfee.
Spain worked for The Worldwide Leader in Sports for many years as a writer and on-air talent, appearing regularly on ‘Around the Horn.’ She has since made a name for herself as an author while launching a successful podcast called ‘Good Game With Sarah Spain.’
Spain was on the ‘Rapid Response’ podcast with Bob Safian, where they discussed ESPN’s new direct-to-customer streaming service and the network’s strategic shift. The topic also saw her call Smith and McAfee out, implying they’re more like influencers than journalists.
“If it’s on ESPN, it’s right. It’s accurate. It’s vetted. It’s journalistically sound,” she remarked. “When you’ve got a Pat McAfee, who the show is produced elsewhere and dropped onto ESPN airwaves and they sort of wash their hands of the production and creation side of it. And they tell you it’s a little bit different but the viewer doesn’t know that.”
She went on to point out that the former NFL star is being sued for libel after repeating a false story, which could hurt the integrity of the network.
“So when he goes on and says things that are factually incorrect, does stories that are, for instance, one he’s now being sued now for, for libel essentially, that aren’t vetted and aren’t sourced before he takes them in front of millions, that I think impacts how people view everything else on the network, even if it’s just subconsciously, right?”
Spain then recalled Stephen A Smith handling UFC president Dana White with kid gloves after he was seen striking his wife, because they are friends.
“When they turn it on, do they still think Adam Schefter says is journalistically sound or does the fact that Pat McAfee’s on the same network, or Stephen A. Smith who will say, ‘oh I can’t talk about Dana White hitting his wife on camera, he’s a close personal friend of mine.’ That’s not how journalism works, right?” she asked.
For the record, Smith did address the White controversy, but Smith didn’t go as hard at him as folks are used to seeing and even revealed he told the UFC boss he would discuss his actions on ‘First Take’ beforehand.
