Deadspin: Manti Te'o's dead girlfriend story was a hoax

Incorrect. He did make a mistake. That quote shouldn't have been there. I was full-bore against his attempted takedown of Charles Robinson. And hell, I preferred A.J. Daulerio's version of Deadspin. The site doesn't interest me now nearly as much, mostly because I think the writing was stronger when Craggs and Luke O'Brien were doing the heavy lifting alongside Barry Petchesky, who is often terrific but now seems to be on an island with a bunch of guys like Tom Ley and Jack Dickey and Timothy Burke, who are not particularly interesting writers. (Erik Malinowski has a lot of good moments, too.)

And yes, Tommy Craggs sets the rules for an interview of Tommy Craggs. Just as Derrick Rose set the rules for an interview of Derrick Rose. And just as Michael Jordan set the rules for an interview of Michael Jordan. You need to know how to approach someone you're interviewing. You need to know how to get good responses out of them. For the sake of hits, I suppose this person did. But he got the answers he was going to get, given his questions and subject.

 

And that is different from Deadspin's comment sections . . . how?

Besides the cosmetic, I mean.

 

I don't agree with the snark and putdowns. But I can understand Craggs mindset that caused him to respond that way.

The part in the second graf I agreed with was when he said nobody seized upon that one line to make their own case. Also, that there were 2,000 words preceding it that helped build a context for it.

Also, I agree with your take about how Craggs should have said "Yeah, we got that wrong. But we stand behind the entirety of the work."

(Obviously, I have some mixed feelings about the whole Q&A. Neither Craggs or the interviewer covered themselves in glory in it.)

 

OK, you're goddamn delusional now.

And also Michael Jordan and Derrick Rose have gotten questions that were a fuck of a lot more inartful than the one we're arguing about, from people they likely (and in Jordan's case provably) found detestable. Know what they did? They answered the question. And very rarely if ever did they call the questioner a moron or other names while doing it.

 

Jordan won't give interviews to Sports Illustrated. He refused to help in any way with David Halberstam's book. And he has in the past told reporters not to ask him about certain things before or during one-on-one interviews.

Jordan has a brand to protect. Rose is a nice guy and has a brand to protect. Craggs is not a nice guy and has made his brand off not being a nice guy. Of course Craggs was being an asshole, but did you expect anything different? The interviewer knew he was getting an asshole to begin with and added fuel to the fire from the very onset. The first question is about a criticism taken directly from The Boston Globe.

My point is this: If you interview someone, you need to understand where they are coming from. Imagine doing a sitdown with John Chaney in 1996 and bringing up something John Calipari said to you in your first question? You destroy any hopes of getting a great interview right off the bat.

 

I've read worse on the comments on newspaper websites.

 

No sports figure ever tried to dictate the proceedings regarding interviews. Nor did they respond disrespectfully to questions.

Tommy Craggs may unfortunately have started a terrible trend now.

 

Craggs' reply to the interview question is inaccurate.

 

Not really.

You, like most who want to defend the traditional media's mass failure here, just disagree with it. I happen to think his answer was fine.

So what's the difference between this place and Deadspin's comment sections?

 

Is "Samoan" a racial epithet? It's a ethnic gentilic, but it is the proper term, right?

 

What do you mean "not really?"

I've already pointed out the inaccuracy.

And I have no interest in defending old media.

I don't care about the difference between this place and Deadspin's comments section, if indeed there is one - because it has no bearing on anything except your need to redirect the discussion.

 

"Fucking Samoan" could easily be taken for one.

Ignoring that fact to its own advantage is Deadspin's rhetorical style.