ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter is again owning up to a journalistic mistake he made.
On Tuesday evening, Schefter tweeted that Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook was the victim of domestic abuse and extortion and that there is pending litigation, according to his agent, Zac Hiller.
The tweet left many confused because it lacked any background or context about the statement from Hiller and did not include any reporting from the other side of the story.
He followed up 45 minutes later with some more background about an incident that allegedly happened at Cook’s home a year ago, but there were still many questions to be had.
Minneapolis Star-Tribune reporter Rochelle Olson wrote a story that contained information from the publicly-filed lawsuit against Cook, alleging him of assault, battery and false imprisonment.
Schefter continued to relay statements from Cook’s attorney on Twitter, adding that it was in response to a civil lawsuit filed by a woman alleging Cook assaulted her.
The journalist took a lot of heat from fans on social media over his lack of reporting the full story and on Wednesday he acknowledged he should have done a better job reporting the story during an appearance on the 6 p.m. SportsCenter, which was hosted by Elle Duncan.
“It’s important to reach out to all sides for information and comment. When I got the information the other night, I didn’t do that,” he said. “And I could have done a better job reaching out to the other people, especially on a story as sensitive as this. I didn’t do that properly, and it’s a reminder to slow down in this world. And I appreciate you, Elle [Duncan], giving me the opportunity to say that.”
This is not the first time Schefter has caught flak for his journalistic practices.
Last month, emails leaked from the Washington Football Team investigation showed Schefter reaching out to WFT president Bruce Allen with a full draft of a story and calling him “Mr. Editor.”
Schefter semi-defended himself, saying that checking with sources to make sure information is accurate is standard practice, but admitted he should have done so in a more professional manner.
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