ESPN Apologizes to Patriots Organization After SportsCenter Cited Retracted Report

Many have taken issue with how ESPN has covered Deflategate compared to other outlets. As Barstool noted here and here, SportsCenter twice referred to the story that the Patriots taped the Rams’ walkthrough before Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002, and anchor Steve Levy apologized for it late last night. This particular story had been reported by the Boston Herald. As Mike Reiss — now of ESPN Boston, then of the Boston Globe — described, the Herald retracted that story:

Because the Patriots are the Patriots, and because Goodell burned all the 2007 Spygate tapes so nobody else could see them, that Rams story has kind of stuck with New England as if it were fact. This past January, amidst a frenzy of what we now know was inaccurate Deflategate reporting, Kurt Warner said he remained suspicious that there were hijinks, and Marshall Faulk used even more forceful language. These are some interesting times we live in.