SI did a piece on the "amateurish" journalism done by McHenry. It is an independent piece with Post reporter Jason Reid being interviewed for much of it. Anyone that has read and listened to Reid on JFK knows he has been very critical of the Skins over the years so I don't think he can be counted on as a "homer" or anything.
McHenry has her perception of things and perceived the disruption to be a revolt against RG3. Reid mentions that players would not do something so public if they truly felt that way towards their QB. He also mentioned that McHenry is not close enough to understand the Skins locker room and if she had any questions, he would have been happy to have helped her out. All the report did was to create more of an unnecessary distraction and doesn't do anyone any good. I suppose except for McHenry who has gotten a heck more play than she ever has in her career.
The article can be read here: http://www.si.com/nfl/2014/11/04/robert-griffin-iii-washington-redskins-britt-mchenry-espn
5 comments:
The skins players are upset with the media and their level of access and therefore made a commotion when McHenry was interviewing a member of the skins.
The interviewee happened to be RG3. Would it would have been the case had she been interviewing anybody else on the skins? Probably not.
If I were a reporter, and I was trying to do my job and there were players in the locker room that were yelling obscenities at me while I am interviewing their star QB, I would be upset and perceive it as lack of respect for me and my interviewee. Which is exactly what her point is.
If RG3 has granted McHenry or media an interview, the other skins players should respect that and let it be. By creating this level of outburst during his interview, is clear lack of respect for RG3 and the media.
I mean he is supposed to be the franchise qb and leader of the team right? If he is thought of as the leader of the skins, then I doubt that any player on that roster would dare say a word to disrupt his interview. Think of Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady. No player, let alone 15 players, would dare create a commotion of any kind. What happened was clear lack of respect for RG3 and unprofessionalism. That is what is being reported by McHenry.
I would assume ESPN is more credible than any of the other media sources. Until ESPN refutes the story, its hard not to believe it. Even more, well established Wilbon, and Schefter are backing the story all the way.
I really don't understand what the DC media members are trying to refute. Its pretty silly in my opinion. We all agree that the commotion was being directed at PR and the media for their level of access. Its the simple fact that it happened when the franchise QB was speaking. The commotion would not happen in any other superstar QB's locker room. Because it happened when RG3 was addressing the media, it shows lack of respect for the franchise qb and complete unprofessionalism.
A couple of things. It was not an interview between McHenry and RG3. It was a post practice media session. The players were unhappy because the media is allowed one hour prior to practice to conduct interviews. Because several Redskin players don't show up for these sessions, Redskins PR allowed a second hour POST practice for the media.
The players were not happy about this and voiced their displeasure towards the media as well as Redskins PR department. As the players were walking into the media session, RG3 even joked about it with his teammates. However, the joking turned into something more.
No question these guys behavior was unprofessional and immature and rude. What started out as a joke spiraled into something more. According to reports, many of the guys were joking but some of them were more angry. Reporters will tell you that friendly disruptions or distractions are common place in locker rooms. This was more than that and every media member there agrees that the behavior exhibited by those individuals was immature and unprofessional.
Again, it probably started out as a joke and turned into something more. It's wrong but it's not hard to understand. I have been in locker rooms where things started out as a joke and quickly escalated into something much more.
Also, Wilbon didn't back the story. He wasn't even there. He simply showed some support for a young colleague.
Honestly, this is a non story that has become a story but has since died down because people are realizing it is a non story.
Deadspin gives a pretty good interpretation of everything in the following article:
http://deadspin.com/that-whole-espn-report-on-rgiii-was-kind-of-a-mess-1655130691?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+deadspin%2Ffull+%28Deadspin%29
Honestly, after reading the article, it's the subtleties of how articles are written that cause the issues. I suppose McHenry's report may be technically accurate but how it's written leads people to believe in something more. Again, it's a non story that became something more and was unnecessary.
Also, the only thing the DC media members are refuting in McHenry's report is that somehow the "commotion" was a result of the team showing their non support of RG3. That is the only issue in dispute. No one is disputing the commotion or that it was disruptive and unprofessional.
It may not be about not supporting RG3, but it definitely showed that there isn't any higher level of support for him being the franchise QB. I would definitely say respect is earned. If he plays well and does his part and they can string a few wins in under his belt this year, all of this is a non issue. One, because they are winning, and two because he will have gained the respect of a franchise qb that can lead them to victory.
I think everyone on the team recognizes that he is the QB of the team. That doesn't mean that everyone in the locker room loves the guy. As reporters will tell you, that is rare for any player. I'm sure even GB has some guys that don't like Rodgers. However, I'm sure they all respect him as the leader because of his track record.
You're right, in that support comes with success and respect is earned. Look, in the end, winning cures everything. Media reports are good. Fans are happy. Team/coaches are happy. Everything is good. It's no secret or surprise that if a QB can lead a team to victory and builds a track record (i.e., Brady, Manning, Rodgers, Brees) they will get support. Show me a losing team where everything is good in the locker room. A couple of weeks ago, all was grand in Dallas. They lost two straight and now there are reports of tense meetings/discussions in the locker room and players in fighting. Same in SF. Earlier all was good, now there are reports of disagreements with Harbaugh and the team and management. Same with Seattle. It was all good earlier in the season and now fighting among players led to Harvin leaving and reports of Lynch being upset and even questioning the beloved Russell Wilson. It's the nature of media in sports. When it's good, it's all good. When there is losing, the media needs to report on the issues and will some times cobble thoughts together and share their perceptions. You can't believe everything you read. If I spent an hour in your house every day and watched the interactions in your house, I may get a perception of things that may not be accurate at all with how things operate in your home as I am just getting a small sample of what takes place. I may interview everyone in your home and take nuggets and make inferences but I may not be getting (or worse not reporting) the full picture. Again, you can believe everything you read.
RG3 is just getting his career started. He has been injured most of this year and played injured all of last year, I've said it from week 1, we need to see what this guy can do when healthy. My own belief is that he will be more like the guy we saw in year 1. We'll see. He needs to prove it. I'm sure Gruden and the players want him to prove it. However, the McHenry report is still silly and was unnecessary and perhaps could be considered technically accurate, you have to wonder the motives behind the story. If she was just clueless or if the intent was something more malicious in trying to create a distraction. It doesn't matter much anymore because it now seems that the truth came out and this non story which became a story has been squashed and is fading away. I'm sure McHenry won't be welcome in Redskins Park anymore and if she does come, she won't get much of anything out of the players or organization.
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