Chad Dukes took aim at the D.C. sports media on Thursday, in a forceful critique of reporters' handling of a forthcoming Washington Post story on the Washington Redskins, which was reportedly set to drop on Thursday but has yet to see the light of day.
At the top of his 106.7 The Fan broadcast, Dukes laid waste to these reporters in his crosshairs over their apparent desire to glom onto the story, by claiming on social media they know the details of this supposed bombshell while never actually providing the goods themselves.
"Time is a flat circle and it resides here in Washington, D.C.," Dukes began.
"There's just this nebulous Washington Post article that jackasses have been referencing since Sunday night," he set the stage. "Ohhhh, man! You check out this story, you're not gonna believe it! Oh my God. The world's gonna end."
"They're conjuring Dormammu!" Dukes exclaimed. "The Redskins have a bunch of heretics out there, they're all standing around a pentagram, and they're trying to bring back Dormammu to wreak havoc on Northern Virginia, and Maryland and D.C."
"Shut up! All of you horses a**es," he raged. "All of ya that don't have the story, couldn't put that story together, have never reported on the story, know about the story and are trying to flex nuts. Well, ya know what, now everybody knows. Only it hasn't been reported."
This week has resulted in a trove of reporters reporting not on information, but on speculation, speculating about a report that others plan to report. It's been a bizarre twist
I’m on paternity leave and know nothing about anything but this....this is weird pic.twitter.com/JsVzmTyzVF
— Dan Steinberg (@dcsportsbog) July 15, 2020Instead of listening to the mountains of fans begging for them to keep quiet unless they have something substantive to report, the D.C. media collective has seemingly doubled down, choosing to build even more suspense towards the story expected to be reported by The Post.
Not meant to be cryptic (apologies if it comes across that way): Dan Snyder is going to be in trouble once the story comes out. Big trouble. Possibly no choice but to sell-the-team trouble. The story HAS to drop Thursday. Too much is starting to trickle out. See you tomorrow.
— Joe Yasharoff (@JYash) July 16, 2020Working my sources but apparently changing of the Redskins name will be old news come tomorrow when a bombshell report is expected to surface. There’s growing buzz that unflattering news about organization could come out in just hours. We will be live with the latest on @ABC7GMW pic.twitter.com/zTK19dV4Mo
— John Gonzalez (@ABC7John) July 16, 2020Sources are telling me soooo much bad stuff that’s about to come out about the #Redskins. I could tweet details but you can clearly see it’s already all over Twitter. It’s DISGUSTING if it’s all true. I’m going to bed now.THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MY VACATION WEEK!!!
— Darren M. Haynes (@DarrenMHaynes) July 16, 2020Something fishy is going on with the NFL team formerly known as the Washington Redskins.There's speculation that a bombshell is about to drop today.MORE: https://t.co/aAflpIw0k9
— ABC 7 News - WJLA (@ABC7News) July 16, 2020Of course, some have come to excuse themselves for fueling speculation without actually providing the goods. Just as most reporters understand why their colleagues have declined to share the info they purportedly have: fear of legal reprisal.
Who wants to get sued by a billionaire!?That’s the game many DON’T wanna play right now.
— Darren M. Haynes (@DarrenMHaynes) July 16, 2020It would take a legacy media outlet such as the Jeff Bezos-backed Post to have the bankroll to run with steamy allegations against a billionaire NFL team owner. If you're going to malign a man like Snyder's name, you better have pockets deep enough to fight any potential defamation and/or libel lawsuits.
And yet, that still doesn't answer the question of the pile-on. It's quite possible to simultaneously fear legal action and not tease the information you're either too scared or not permitted to report.
"I mean, people got the spears, and the pitchforks and the torches out so quickly," Dukes continued. "Well, this isn't my story, but I tell you what, I knew about it way back here on Sunday night and I'm gonna retweet myself as soon as the story comes out and say, 'See, I told you so!'
"F you. Either report it or don't, ya jackass."
