What's the dumbest question you've ever asked?

[reformedhack]

As a baby scribe working for my college newspaper, I was assigned to do a feature on a swimmer who had competed in the Olympics the previous summer. What I was trying to ask about was the pressure of competing for your country vs. the pressure of competing for your school, but my question instead came out along the lines of, "What's more important — the Olympics or the college season?" She just rolled her eyes and answered as dismissively as possible. And since that was my opening question, the rest of the interview wasn't particularly good ... or lengthy.

Of course, now I roll my eyes whenever I hear her asking equally stupid questions of athletes during NBC's Olympics coverage. Guess I got the last laugh. (Compares paychecks. Stops laughing. Begins crying.)

 

[Pilot]

Early in my college reporting career I think I once included "we" in a question to the football coach. Gag. That may have just been a nightmare, though. It feels a little fuzzy.

On one of my first preps assignments, it was one coach's 300th career win, and it came against a rival. I was stringing, so it wasn't my beat or anything, but I'd been briefed on this, so went charging on to the court to ask questions. First guy I saw was the other team's coach. First question: "This was Coach WhatsHisNuts' 300th win. What's that mean to you?" He said, "Well, he'd have had 300 last week if we hadn't beaten them earlier this season, I guess." I felt like a dumbass, but he ended up being cool and giving me a nice answer. I learned an important lesson that day about how to and not to frame some questions.

 

[spikechiquet]

I ask a lot of dumb questions...but not insulting dumb questions. If that makes sense.
Actually the dumbed-down questions usually get the best answers. But upon listening back to some of my interviews...yeah, I ask some dumbish questions. Especially on longform stuff when I am just starting to get familiar with a subject (I have started to venture into new fields outside of sports and it's a whole new world sometimes! LOL)

 

[TGO157]

I once asked Mark Richt what were his three favorite wing sauces. He gave a serious answer. 1.) Honey BBQ; 2.) A "hot-but-not-too-hot" buffalo; and 3.) Teriyaki.

 

[Kolchak]

Wait, you're supposed to ask questions? How do you ask questions when you're supposed to start all your sentences with "Talk about..."?

 

[RecoveringJournalist]

I had to ask a NFL quarterback if he saw our special section and what he thought of it.

I was told by our Executive Editor to ask him. I refused and was then told, "That wasn't a request."

I called back three hours later and said, "He said he'd seen it, but hadn't read it yet."

I never asked him anything.

 

[TyWebb]

At my first paper, I was really trying to blow out our pre-signing day coverage and was gung-ho about getting a lot of different stories written about local kids. I called a football coach from a small-ish college and asked him why he was interested in recruiting one our local athletes.

The coach: You know I can't answer that.

Me: You can't? Why not?

The coach: Umm, because it is an NCAA violation and I'd probably get fired.

I had completely blanked on the fact that coaches can't comment on high school athletes they are recruiting until after they sign. He was actually really cool about it and said "gimme a call after signing day and we'll talk." I hung up the phone and just shook my head at how stupid I was.

 

[Kato]

I know I've asked my share of dumb questions, poorly framed a bunch and even let the old "talk about" slip out, especially on deadline. But somebody needs to enlighten me on why some of these questions are "dumb"? The answers you get or the reactions you get from subjects or fellow media don't necessarily make them or you stupid.

So you're new and don't realize the coach can't talk about recruits until they sign? Coach told you he can't. Now you know.

The coach's response when asked about the other coach's 300th win? Brilliant! What a quote!

You shouldn't have asked a hitter why he's had so much success against a certain pitcher because he would never reveal his secrets, and the other writers already know this so they would never ask? Really? What if does give you an answer? Perhaps you can tell us what the veteran scribe told you was the error of your ways?

 

[TyWebb]

I know I've asked my share of dumb questions, poorly framed a bunch and even let the old "talk about" slip out, especially on deadline. But somebody needs to enlighten me on why some of these questions are "dumb"? The answers you get or the reactions you get from subjects or fellow media don't necessarily make them or you stupid.

So you're new and don't realize the coach can't talk about recruits until they sign? Coach told you he can't. Now you know.

The coach's response when asked about the other coach's 300th win? Brilliant! What a quote!

You shouldn't have asked a hitter why he's had so much success against a certain pitcher because he would never reveal his secrets, and the other writers already know this so they would never ask? Really? What if does give you an answer? Perhaps you can tell us what the veteran scribe told you was the error of your ways?

Well, in my case, it was dumb because I did know he couldn't talk until after they signed. I just forgot because I was all caught up in my "I'm going to quote EVERYBODY" gusto.

 

[RecoveringJournalist]

At my first paper, I was really trying to blow out our pre-signing day coverage and was gung-ho about getting a lot of different stories written about local kids. I called a football coach from a small-ish college and asked him why he was interested in recruiting one our local athletes.

The coach: You know I can't answer that.

Me: You can't? Why not?

The coach: Umm, because it is an NCAA violation and I'd probably get fired.

I had completely blanked on the fact that coaches can't comment on high school athletes they are recruiting until after they sign. He was actually really cool about it and said "gimme a call after signing day and we'll talk." I hung up the phone and just shook my head at how stupid I was.

One of the assistants of the college basketball team I would cover would confirm which players they were recruiting, but I had to give him the names. I think part of him wanted to see if I was doing my homework and part of him wanted to make sure no bad information got out there. He never burned me. I accidentally forked him over by writing that one guy (a top prospect at the time) was their first choice over a guy who went on to become a NBA superstar, who went elsewhere and who I was told the coach of the place he went, read my story to him over the phone. The coach who got him thanked me at the Final Four.

I'm surprised any of them talked to me again after that one, but I think I scored points by going down to the offices to apologize to all of them immediately after it happened. I worded something poorly and I colossally forked up.

 

[Bronco77]

You shouldn't have asked a hitter why he's had so much success against a certain pitcher because he would never reveal his secrets, and the other writers already know this so they would never ask? Really? What if does give you an answer? Perhaps you can tell us what the veteran scribe told you was the error of your ways?

Basically, I was told that this was a breach of "etiquette." Part of it had to do with the mentality of some of the old-time baseball writers back then, guys like Jerome Holtzman and Phil Pepe. They'd been through these wars many times and knew such a question was unlikely to produce much of a response. They also weren't the most gracious people in the world, and didn't much care for "outsiders" who hadn't paid their dues or didn't regularly cover major league baseball. So, in the context of the time and place, such a question was "dumb" -- even though it was a perfectly logical question, and one that any curious reporter who wasn't part of the baseball writers' fraternity back then might have asked.

 

[wisportswriter]

I believe we've had threads like this before, and I believe I've shared this one before, but it merits repeating:

During a phone interview, I asked a young man whether he and his twin sister were identical twins.