ESPN reporting on Arizona Basketball is irresponsible

An article written by ESPN Senior Writer Mark Schlabach sent shock waves through the world of college basketball on Friday.

Shockwaves. That’s what it felt like. Shockwaves ravaged their way through the Arizona Basketball program and Wildcats fan nation and continued to gain steam over the weekend. The story dominated the conversation by sports fans and media alike.

Basketball analysts from every network covering NCAA games gave their take on the allegations, ranging from wait and see, to an immediate demand that Arizona Head Coach Sean Miller’s employment be terminated in addition to strongly worded opinions that Deandre Ayton (the player named in the article) be suspended for the remainder of the year. But the word “allegation” was missing from a lot of reports and discussions.

Arizona Wildcats Basketball

If you haven’t read the article yet, the gist of the story is that Coach Miller was allegedly overheard on a telephone conversation that was captured via FBI Wiretap discussing setting up a payment of $100,000 to secure the commitment of Deandre Ayton.

Ayton, who was the top-ranked recruit, according to the ESPN’s player rankings at the time, signed with Arizona during the Fall signing period in 2016. The supposed conversation, held between Miller and Christian Dawkins (a former agent who is now the subject of an ongoing FBI investigation) was one of among roughly 3000 hours of conversations that the FBI listened to as part of an investigation into corruption between agents, players and the schools that are recruiting them. How many minutes were reported on by Schlabach? Five?

According to ESPN’s original article, sources close to the investigation shared information with Mark Schlabach, detailing a number of conversations held between Miller and Dawkins. These wiretap conversations include the alleged discussion regarding a payment to secure Ayton’s services. The timeline of the conversation is cloudy, as the originally published date has since been changed from Spring of 2017 to Spring of 2016, to just 2016. ESPN issued a correction, but it is buried in their correction page.

Brad Allis points out it isn’t just the writer, but all the powers that be who employ the writer, he’s right!

The alleged activity constitutes a possible major NCAA infraction, let me explain. Players in college basketball are required to retain their amateur status, and acceptance of any form of payment would result in them forfeiting that standing, making them ineligible to compete. Likewise, the payment of any player by a coach would constitute cheating, by gaining an unfair advantage over other schools in the recruitment process.

Taken at face value, the allegations lay out a strong case for those actions mentioned above. The immediate removal of Sean Miller as head coach and suspension of Deandre Ayton would be reasonable and expected results if the actions detailed in Schlabach’s article are valid. However, the use of an unnamed and unverifiable source calls into question the validity of the assertions made in the report. And the FBI has not handed out any indictments to either Ayton or Miller.

As Schlabach has admitted, the leaked information did not come from the FBI, but rather from a “source close to the investigation”. There is no clear knowledge at this point if the writer has heard a recording of the call, or seen the transcripts of the recorded conversation. He says,“I’m told from people who have heard these wiretaps,” in this interview:

The article was written in a direct and forceful manner, seeming to indicate that the conversations and details shared are deemed factual by the author and by ESPN. But without corroborating evidence, there are, and there will continue to be questions that come up.

One important point to remember is that an ongoing federal investigation requires that all data captured remain sealed, without exception, to anyone other than those involved in the investigation, prosecution, or defense of those who are being investigated.

The fact that Coach Sean Miller is not currently under FBI Investigation, would seem to indicate that the source who leaked the information may not have Miller’s, or the school’s best interest at heart and that they have separate, personal (though not necessarily nefarious) reasons for wanting the information out in the public eye.

Responsible vs. Irresponsible reporting

Where the question of Responsible vs. Irresponsible reporting comes in to question, is the immediate assignment of a guilty verdict by both author and pundit alike, based on evidence that can not be produced, or verified.

In the current social media environment, it takes little to no time for a message to be disseminated and accepted as fact by millions of people. When a report, which contains questionable source material, not to mention dates, is used to convict in the court of public opinion, there is little that the subject of the material can do to protect themselves.

The information is out to the public so fast and can be commented upon with such immediate effect, that the matter being discussed is accepted as fact, leading many uninformed viewers, readers, listeners, etc., to assign blame prematurely. Ayton’s lawyer was not contacted before the ESPN report, so Schlabach had to issue this statement after publication:

Case in point: While this media guy on Sports Illustrated has some good advice about what to do going forward, he still is saying Miller has to go. Look at the title on the video which makes it look like the wiretapping leak is a fact and not something alleged and no indictment has been handed to Miller. Irresponsible.

When highly respected commentators like Jay Bilas, Dick Vitale, Seth Greenberg (all employees of ESPN) pile on the bandwagon, calling the alleged actions “career ending” without first qualifying the comment with a statement such as “if the actions described prove to be true”, the average fan doesn’t question their knowledge, or authority to make such remarks.

Another item pointing to the irresponsibility of the reporting done by the “Worldwide Leader in Sports” is the fact that the conversation is taken as an admission of guilt when there has been no context assigned to the full conversation. There is nothing in the article to suggest the tone of the conversation or to express the other sentiments made around the comments in question. Context is critical in the assignment of blame and/or guilt.

More from Wildcats Basketball

• Arizona Basketball likely to schedule Florida Atlantic for 2023
• Rondae Hollis-Jefferson’s FIBA World Cup performance is reminiscent of Kobe Bryant’s
• Rawle Alkins a star in the Drew League this summer
• Arizona Basketball to play in ‘Battle 4 Atlantis’ in 2024
• Reflections on the Pac-12, the Arizona Wildcats, and other memories

If I were to say, “green is the best color”, the context of my comment can be construed any number of ways. Is it the best color for an article of clothing? Is it my favorite color? Am I color blind and can’t see the other colors on the spectrum, and therefore have nothing to base my opinion upon? Context in any situation matters, but particularly in a situation that results in the call for a coach, who has never otherwise been implicated in any wrongdoing, to resign

To be clear, it is important to note that if the details of the alleged article, do indeed turn out to be factual, the scrutiny that Coach Miller and the Arizona basketball program are under will be more than warranted. However, until that occurs, the crucifixion that occurred on live television over the past 48-hours is unjustified and has inflicted immeasurable harm on a program and the community that desperately supports their team.

Coach Miller has indicated that he will “be vindicated” which is some extremely strong language for someone to take if they are aware that they may have been overheard on a wiretapped conversation making the alleged comments that started this controversy. But whether he is or not, much of the damage has already been done.

A man with an impeccable reputation as a leader and a coach will now have to bear the stigma of being associated with this investigation. Recruiting, the lifeblood of college basketball has already fallen off dramatically.

The Wildcats are now down to a single remaining recruit for the 2018-2019 season. Relationships with the media, both nationally, and locally have been damaged, possibly irreparably. A once proud program is now faced with the reality of possibly having to start over, despite the faith and support that they continue to give to their embattled head coach and players. And finally, the players themselves are subject to a type, and level of scrutiny that is simply not fair to a group of young men who are fighting to win games and entertain their fans.

Note the Solidarity: TJ McConnell (NBA)‘s Instagram post was liked by former and current basketball, football and baseball players: Lauri Markkanen (NBA), Will Parks (NFL), Scooby Wright (NFL), Markell Fultz (NBA former Husky), Aaron Gordon (NBA), Jake Matthews (Arizona Football), Alex Barcello (Arizona Basketball), Mark Tollefson (Eurobasket), JJ Matijevic (MLB), Parker Jackson-Cartwright (Arizona Basketball), Jared Tevis (Former AZ Football), Brendon Lavender (Former Arizona Basketball), Dylan Ennis (Eurobasket, former Duck), Khalil Tate (Arizona QB), Dusan Ristic (AZ Basketball), Kyle Fogg (China Pro Basketball), and Rondae Hollis Jefferson (NBA) and more. Khalil Tate, Mark Lyons, Caleb Jones (NFL), and Jacob Hazzard all commented.

It seems so much damage has been done to the Arizona Basketball program, without the benefit of being assumed innocent until proven guilty. This is proof enough that the reporting has thus far been irresponsible. The fact that an article and the subsequent comments that have followed have all been made without needing the burden of proof is all the evidence that Arizona fans need to feel that they and their program have been the victims in an irresponsible attack on their coach and their team.

Must Read: More on Arizona Basketball from ZZ..

It will take a tough coach, tough players, and a tough fan base to survive this dark period in the history of Arizona Athletics. But if there is one thing that Arizona fans have learned over the years, it’s that when the times get tough, the tough “Responsibly” Bear Down!