Did you read the story on ESPN.com yesterday where one of their seasoned reporters, Arash Markazi, got to sit in on a lavish Miami party thrown for the benefit of LeBron James? Apparently James is clearly represented as a self centered narcissist who may be somewhat of a womanizer to boot.
What, didn't catch it?
Well, there's a good reason for that, ESPN pulled the story from their website and and has been suspiciously mum on its reasons why. But luckily, thanks to the good people over at the Boston Globe, I can share with you a link to read it yourself: ESPN story
But as scandalous as the story is, and really, how much does it tell us that we couldn't already surmise based on “Prince” James recent actions, the bigger story is ESPN deciding to yank it and not acknowledge it. How does a station who prides itself on its journalistic integrity in regards to sports and is willing to post dirt on any other athlete in the world so blatantly ignores a juicy first hand account from one of its reporters?
One of their own, and yes, that bares repeating.
Arash Markazi isn't just some bum off the street. He's profiled some of the biggest athletes in the game, has covered major sporting events like the Stanley Cup and has broken stories about USC recruiting violations. This guy is top notch.
So why did they pull it?
That's the question that's causing such a stir, especially following in the wake of that debacle of a “news event”, the Decision. So, inevitably, the question that has to be asked is what does LeBron James have over ESPN that he can get this story yanked? Threats of a lawsuit is a possibility, their could be some libel issues with the article, but the attention it would give the network would far outweigh the possible cost of litigation.
So what's the deal?
As of right now, only those responsible for yanking the story know the reasons why but I have a feeling this story isn't going to go away. We will hear from ESPN in the near future on this and I, for one, am anxious to hear how they back themselves out of this corner.
