ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter irked football fans Saturday with the framing of his initial, since-deleted tweet pertaining to the untimely death of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins.
Haskins, 24, tragically died Saturday in South Florida after he reportedly was struck by a truck. Schefter, while being the first to report the news, acknowledged Haskins’ struggles as an NFL quarterback in his initial tweet. It angered players, media members and football fans given the distastefulness.
Schefter’s post, however, does not stand alone with regards to reports that have angered the public recently.
Less than a month ago, Schefter tweeted about the quote-on-quote truth coming out about now Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson. Watson, formerly of the Houston Texans, was facing 22 civil suits for sexual misconduct and sexual assault. When it became public that Watson avoided criminal charges, Schefter hinted at Watson’s innocence, which then prompted many to shred Schefter for not knowing how the legal system worked.
Schefter would apologize for the tweet shortly after.
But the apology pertaining to Watson’s situation came some five months after Schefter was again left apologizing for a previous report on a domestic situation involving Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook.
Schefter, on Nov. 9, reported how Cook’s agent, Zac Hiller, told him the running back was the victim of domestic abuse and extortion. The Star Tribune, however, shared a breaking news story two hours later explaining that Cook was facing a lawsuit by a former girlfriend with the allegations including both assault and battery. Schefter would later apologize and acknowledge how he did not reach out to both sides for information.
“In a case like this, it’s important to reach out to all sides for information and comment,” Schefter said on ESPN in Nov., as shared by Sports Illustrated. “When I got the information the other night, I didn’t do that, and I could’ve done a better job reaching out to the other people, especially on a story as sensitive and as significant as this.”
Many brought up Schefter’s recent activity Saturday when he made his latest blunder with regards to Haskins. Schefter, who published the initial Haskins tweet just before 11 a.m. ET, had yet to apologize for his post seven hours later.
