Another Dumb Idea From That Washington Team
Thursday Night Football. An all-star game after the season. Not handing the ball to Marshawn Lynch. The NFL really is a breeding ground for bad ideas.
Here’s another from the melting pot of dissatisfaction where Redskins team president Bruce Allen informed season ticket holders this week that they can expect to scoop the media by receiving in-game injury updates and player signings first.
While the NFL declined to comment to Pro Football Talk and ESPN, it seems likely that an intervention is in order. ESPN points out that the NFL has no specific rules in place about the order in which injury information is released, though league policy does protect the sanctity of that information.
“Team personnel are responsible for reporting in-game injury information factually and accurately as soon as possible for the benefit of the network television audience and the other media covering our games,” a sliver of the NFL Rulebook states.
Ironically, Washington is one of a handful of teams who have been fined for neglecting to disclose or masking the severity of an injury. In 2012, the team failed to update the media after a Robert Griffin III injury that ultimately resulted in a concussion. They were fined $20,000.
“My app is calling his return doubtful, let’s call it a broken toe.”
Rights holders pay billions to secure, among other things, to right to be the emanating source of new information during a broadcast. While Allen failed to define which factions of “media” would now fall behind season ticket holders, it’s unlikely to include the broadcast booth. That would be insane.
Still, while Michele Tafoya is playing Twister in an attempt to sneak a peek into the trainers’ room, there may come a time when fans receive an injury update before the booth is back from break and gets a chance to toss it to the sideline.
That leads to the biggest issue with this “perk” for season ticket holders. It takes approximately .05 seconds to copy something and paste it into a Tweet, and about two more seconds to add your own take. Processing injury information can be challenging – heck, the media has made its fair share of mistakes. And while most Redskins season ticket holders are harmless masochists, this idea from Allen runs the risk of the attention seekers and wannabe premed students amongst them littering social media with misinformation.
There is absolutely zero reason for this to happen. If the Redskins want to ingratiate themselves with season ticket holders, how about spending some time on nonracistteamnicknamesforsale.com or simply producing a season with more than four wins.
