Mainstream Media Reporting fails the public with its stories yet again

Amidst the whirlwind of rumors regarding Sean Miller and Arizona Basketball, the Mainstream Media’s reporting fails the public yet again.

It has been a whirlwind of events for the Arizona Basketball team the past month, and it all started with ESPN’s reporting nearly a month ago. Unfortunately for the Mainstream Media’s reporting, problems of inaccuracy are still persisting.

In case you have not paid attention, it’s been a month since ESPN came out with an initial report that had stated Arizona head coach Sean Miller was caught on tape offering $100,000 for the services of Deandre Ayton. Ouch! Only thing is their timeline was off.

More from Zona Zealots

• Arizona Football begins Conference play against Stanford
• Arizona Football starts slow but runs away from UTEP
• How Wildcats Fans Can Claim $200 INSTANT Bonus at BetMGM Betting $10 Right Now
• Costly Mistakes doom Arizona Football in loss to Mississippi State
• Arizona Basketball likely to schedule Florida Atlantic for 2023

Luckily, 247Sports’ Jason Scheer did some investigative journalism that poked a lot of holes in that story initially written by ESPN contributor, Mark Schlabach.

ESPN would eventually make MULTIPLE corrections to that original story, despite standing by their premise that Miller was indeed caught on tape. Only one thing, ESPN reportedly doesn’t have those tapes, nor have that heard them.

FYI, Schlabach has been MIA from social media since that story broke.

Unfortunately for Arizona, the story did enough damage to their image, that Miller took an immediate leave of absence just ahead of the Wildcats’ game versus Oregon back on February 24. The report also led to the de-commitments from both Shareef O’Neal and eventually Brandon Williams.

Now weeks later, Arizona is still trying to shake the negative spotlight of those rampant rumors. Miller and Arizona are also looking to move on from their disappointing showing in the NCAA Tournament, while hoping to gain some momentum in their 2018 recruiting class that currently has zero commits.

Well, that’s easier said than done.

While the school is and has been backing Miller, some fans are wishing for the University to move on from Miller, and just give Arizona a clean slate moving forward.

Even though those strong opinions are certainly mixed, one school that seemingly wouldn’t mind in bringing in Miller to their program is Pitt. That’s right, Miller’s alma mater is reportedly interested in hiring Miller as their next head coach.

It was previously stated via social media, that Miller had interest in the opportunity, and had been in communication with Pitt’s athletic director, Heather Lyke. Only one problem, that probably won’t happen, and those rumors are perhaps a bit unsubstantiated.

Perhaps not surprisingly, ESPN’s Jeff Goodman picked up on the story, even stating Miller would take the job if offered. Too bad he’s not a candidate, so why conjecture based off unsubstantiated rumors?

Additionally, the reported “discussion” he had with athletic director Lyke never happened.

So not only does ESPN media come out with statements that have no stated source, the posts or Tweets conflict. Is he interested or not? Is Pitt interested or not? Get on the same page ESPN!

Here’s why the story doesn’t make sense. If Lyke were to bring in Miller, she would have to feel comfortable hiring a coach with the FBI drama and ESPN report reactions and all. Also, Miller has already denied being a candidate, making a public statement yesterday!

“I am not a candidate for the University of Pittsburgh men’s basketball head coaching vacancy. I wish them well in their search for a new coach.”

So, if Miller is not a candidate, and Lyke would have obstacles in bringing him in, then why would he meet with her on the job in the first place?

Arizona Wildcats Basketball

Besides, it would not be a good look by Miller, in my opinion. If he were to leave. It would give the appearance that he’s running from something, or doesn’t believe he could rebuild Arizona. Additionally, he’d leave the Wildcats high and dry, down one assistant coach and no incoming recruits for 2018.

Call him an average coach if you will, but I don’t take him for a fool, or someone devoid of moral character that would walk out on Arizona like that.

Wildcats fans can only hope that these rumors subside and that Miller can focus on rebuilding for next season or move on and Arizona can start over. All we can do is wait, but the less conflicting and fake information we have out there, the better. ESPN has to rethink everything they write about Arizona because Wildcats fans have long memories and bear grudges.

This fan base surely won’t forget the fabricated story by ESPN, that was then picked up by broadcasters Dick Vitale and Jay Bilas. The two continued to lambast Miller, whereas Stephen A went in another direction, adding doubt to Miller’s statements because he wondered why it took so long for him to come out and deny his company’s erroneous reports. Unbelievable. ESPN did not miss an angle to attack Miller and the Arizona Basketball program.

Must Read: More on Arizona Basketball

We have heard from fans wanting to ignore ESPN from now on and others who have started “Where is Mark Schlabach” campaigns.  ESPN PLEASE COME UP WITH A PROCEDURE SO THIS NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN!  As always, Bear Down, Arizona!