The trade deadline is Tuesday and it’s a good time to remember, that not all reports/reporters are equal. It’s good practice to know which reporters have reliable sources and which ones are simply throwing darts, hoping for something to hit so they can give the appearance of being informed.
Following the Detroit Lions game on CBS, a reporter suggested that wide receiver Kenny Golladay purposefully missed Saturday’s practice — upset with not having a contract extension settled with the team — and that a team representative had to track him down.
For the most part, this rumor was ignored by the Lions media, as most have a habit of not throwing fuel on an unsubstantiated fire.
But this morning, with the rumor surrounding Golladay still lingering, several local media members reached out to multiple sources within the Lions organization and confirmed that Golladay was with the team on Saturday, directly contradicting the initial rumor.
No, Kenny Golladay did not skip team meetings over the weekend per multiple sources https://t.co/SbNmNJer7m pic.twitter.com/N1bA5dgLiW
— kyle meinke (@kmeinke) November 2, 2020
For what it's worth, I've been told Kenny Golladay was with the team on Saturday and there's no issues with the receiver.
— Justin Rogers (@Justin_Rogers) November 2, 2020
A league source tells The Athletic that Kenny Golladay was at the Lions' facility on Saturday. An earlier report by CBS Sports stated that Golladay's frustration over his contract "came to a head" over the weekend and Golladay "was not at the facility when he should have been."
— Chris Burke (@ChrisBurkeNFL) November 2, 2020
Even local MLive photographer Mike Mulholland posted on Twitter that he saw Golladay at a drive-thru two miles away from the Allen Park facility and he was picking up food for teammates.
There are for sure instances where national reporters will get a scoop before the Lions beat, but one of the sure-fire ways of knowing which national reports should be taken seriously is to see how the local reporters react to the news.
If the local media ignores the rumor, it’s a safe bet you can ignore it as well.
As is the case here.
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