If you were awake on Saturday night it was nearly impossible to not hear the news about Andrew Luck’s surprise retirement. The news came out of absolutely no where and sent shockwaves through the internet. Thanks to brave reporting by NFL Insider Adam Schefter we were told that this was not the way Luck had planned to break the news. Instead he was hoping to get a chance to speak with his teammates first. Unfortunately, things to didn’t go to plan. Hey Adam, did you ever get to the bottom of how his announcement got commandeered.
Oh.
I’ve said it before (https://shenanigang.com/why-are-sports-columnists-that-break-news-so-widely-respected/) but I’ll say it again: I truly don’t understand the appeal or respect that is bestowed upon these “insiders”.
Not only are they less necessary in a world where athletes can speak directly to their fan bases and break their own news but in cases such as this they are actually rude.
Schefter probably felt a great amount of stress to be the first to break the news as it continues to build his clout and sets him apart from his colleagues. But in his effort to not have his thunder stolen, he stole the thunder from the only guy that matters in this situation. He literally put Luck in an awkward position where both his teammates and fans were finding out about this news while he was standing next to them at a preseason game.
I don’t blame the Colts fans for booing. They were booing Schefter.
