A Bucs Lesson In Fake News
August 26th, 2017
Smeared
Joe was intrigued by the recent public, on-air scrutiny of a Dirk Koetter-Jameis Winston conversation that never happened.
It was a great example of the hot topic of “fake news.”
Thursday on ESPN Radio in Fort Myers, hosts of the Shemon & Sheppard show invited longtime Bucs beat writer Roy Cummings as a guest.
One host (Joe doesn’t know which) asked Cummings what he thought of Dirk Koetter calling Jameis’ decision “selfish” after he threw a near interception in the red zone against the Jaguars. It was a stunning play. On third down, Jameis was nearly on his back and heaved the ball wildly toward the end zone. It was intercepted, but officials later ruled Jameis down and overturned the call.
Per the radio host, Hard Knocks cameras caught Koetter calling Jameis “selfish” in the aftermath of the bad decision. The radio host explained to Cummings that he was exceptionally “surprised by that choice of words” from Koetter.
Cummings was asked if he was surprised Koetter called Jameis “selfish.”
“I’ll say, ‘No,'” Cummings replied. “And here’s why: Jameis Winston is such a team-oriented guy; I think Dirk knows how to get to Jameis Winston. I think he knows how to get through to him. And there’s no doubt that it’s very hard to coach that gunslinger mentality out of Jameis. I think he’s done a pretty good job of it, though. … But in this case, you know, [Jameis] is trying to make a play. He’s trying to do something special. He’s trying to make a little bit more out of something than is actually there.
“And I think in that case, the way to get through to Jameis, who’s such a team-oriented guy, who’s always the one saying, ‘Family. And we’ve got to do this to win. We’ve got to better in this practice to win.’ He’s so team-oriented that I think if you hit him with the word “selfish,” suddenly he’s thinking, ‘Wait a minute. Am I doing this just for me? Maybe I am. I’m thinking of me and trying, you know, to improve my stats instead of saying, ‘You know what? Take the sack here. Settle for the field goal. Get some points next time. Let’s get a touchdown next time. But let’s take what the defense gives us here.’ And I think that’s a way to get through to him and I think Dirk Koetter knows that button.”
So why is this “fake news?” Simple. Koetter never was seen calling Jameis “selfish” on Hard Knocks after that play. It did not happen.
Koetter did advise Jameis he was playing a standout game “and then your greed takes over,” but that’s a hell of a lot different meaning than calling a guy selfish.
Jameis’ greed is tied to a desire to win and to lead the team, it has nothing to do with stats. Frankly, Joe believes Koetter would never even think Jameis is selfish, let alone say it. Jameis is the opposite of selfish.
So, yes, Joe thinks the above exchange was “fake news” by two media members — listened to by thousands of unknowing sports fans who now think Koetter thinks Jameis has a selfish streak that needs to be coached out of him.
It’s stuff like this that hurts a player’s reputation.
August 26th, 2017 at 2:02 pm
If anyone was actually listening….
August 26th, 2017 at 2:05 pm
Too many people today cannot comprehend simple English. I am sure the guy thinks that is what he heard because “selfish” and “greed” are similar. But as you said, there is an entirely different meaning the way Koetter used the word.
August 26th, 2017 at 2:11 pm
All in all Imy glad to Winston held accountable for that play. There was one part I was like keotter went to talk to Winston but it to another scene and then the chew out. It just kinda looked liked 2 parts to it 1 being televised. But I doubt the word shelfish was used.
August 26th, 2017 at 2:16 pm
Seems to me this article is about Joe holding other “journalists” accountable and not so much about Koetter holding Winston accountable.
Thank you Joe!
August 26th, 2017 at 2:59 pm
Lamarcus! Nice hidden LOL there. ^5! Of course
Jameis isn’t a selfish player, anything but, and
Coach Koetter got his point across without using the
word in the first place.
August 26th, 2017 at 3:33 pm
Selfish is a great way to describe it. Not in the sense that jameis is trying to pad stats bc that’s ridiculous
August 26th, 2017 at 3:36 pm
Either way, Koetter took it easy on Jameis. Had that been the regular season I would expect him to come unglued on him. That was one of the more bone headed plays I’ve seen an NFL QB try to make.
“Selfish”, “greedy”, same difference. It was an idiotic play that will lose you games.
August 26th, 2017 at 3:56 pm
I don’t think this is fake news, and here’s why. Fake news is when you report something that you know isn’t true. I think they saw the episode once and “misremembered” Koetters exact words. They are either stupid or didn’t prep enough for the interview, but I don’t think they said “selfish” knowing it was wrong.
August 26th, 2017 at 3:58 pm
Here we go again😂☠
August 26th, 2017 at 4:01 pm
That’s a bunch of BSPN!!!!
August 26th, 2017 at 4:26 pm
Joe you sure it was just not a misquote? “Fake News” sounds like you believe it made up and both hosts and whatever copy people involved and Cummings was in on it too.
August 26th, 2017 at 4:30 pm
I’m more disappointed in Cummings. He should know better.
August 26th, 2017 at 4:50 pm
Great story joe! While we’re at it can we try to hold the refs accountable too? The major thing that no one is talking about is the face mask and blow to the head that the refs consistently refuse to call for Jameis.
I’m I’m sure we’ll see at least one example of it tonight. Jameis takes hits that other QBs get flags for. Late hits, hits to the head, face masks. Why are the refs not “protecting” Jameis?
Even outside the pocket a face mask, incidental or not, needs to be called ESPECIALLY on QBs. Remember a few years ago Breese got a very question flag against bowman (49ers) for “hands to the face,neck area”? Helped breese win the game.
I just want to avoid having JWs neck twisted backwards while his helmets gets rips off. Is that too much to ask?
August 26th, 2017 at 5:10 pm
Cummings was awful full of himself the other day when he was questioning Dirk about the gassers (making a lot of statements, per Dirk)
August 26th, 2017 at 5:19 pm
gotbbucs, selfish and greedy do not mean the same thing. You are right, it WAS idiotic, but not selfish. Greedy? Maybe, but not selfish.
August 26th, 2017 at 5:20 pm
Why does Cummings hate America?
August 26th, 2017 at 5:42 pm
I’m sure the dozens of listeners are extremely disappointed in the reporting…..
August 26th, 2017 at 5:42 pm
I did hear the greed comment from Dirk. Never heard selfish. Sure, this is ESPN Ft Myers, FL. Not a huge town, but the station covers Southwest Florida from Port Charlotte, Cape Coral, San Carlos Park, Estero, Bonita Springs, Naples and Marco Island. That’s a lot of territory. Enough people hear the word selfish there and then spread it across Facebook and send out Tweets. The the mainstream media outlets pick up that Jameis is selfish. Then suddenly this lie is repeated over and over and over ad nausea until it is taken as fact. Then it becomes fact that Jameis is selfish. Roy Cummings, ESPN Ft Myers and parent company ESPN should issue a statement that retracts the miss-statement that Koetter is heard calling Jameis selfish and then saying that it is good because he is coaching the selfishness out of Jameis. I thought that Koetter was spot on with his statement, “Then greed takes over.”
Got a question if Dave ‘Pops’ Molton is still doing radio in Estero.
August 26th, 2017 at 5:56 pm
Espn? Don’t worry joe. No one was listening.
August 26th, 2017 at 6:28 pm
In America now fake news = news I do not want to hear.
Now if a story is misreported then it’s wrong. But when dozens of news outlets show video of of a person saying something and the person denies it…over and over and over again…what do you call that? Fake charges?
So the radio host made a mistake. Fake implies somebody is making something up. And again in today in America when you make a charge of fake news it generally means something totally different.
Fake news has been sooooo overused in this nation and sadly by a person who 99.9% is simply referring to video or pics that prove something he simply does not want to hear.
Our country has become a joke so I’ll tell you one. A wife comes home early and catches her husband in bed with a naked woman. Husband quickly says…”Who are you going to believe me or your lyin’ eyes”. Fake news=lyin eyes. We don’t really see what we see.
August 26th, 2017 at 7:22 pm
Bingo SPBF.
Joe’s beef with ESPN is getting old.
What exactly does anything here have to do with Joe’s beef with ESPN? Nothing–Joe
August 26th, 2017 at 8:19 pm
‘True’ Fake News is mainstream media giving opinionated pieces because they need something to keep bringing people back to the tube/articles once the undeniable actions have occurred followed by over analyzing the nuances and coming to an opinionated concensus that at times can be slanted politically to the left side because the reality is many in the media, usually because of education at colleges that generally lean left. With that said, frankly Joe, greed and selfish are pretty much synonyms.
August 26th, 2017 at 9:05 pm
One can be greedy for their team’s success but never selfish. They aren’t synonyms. They can be used to describe the same person bit they aren’t the same. Much like there are distinguishable differences between being quick or fast and powerful and strong, greedy and selfish are also definitely different.
August 26th, 2017 at 9:32 pm
Fair, Koetters intent is necessarily knowable, you have to assume certain things. To say he his selfish is an assumption no doubt. You can only go by what the man said. I personally havnt given this interview a listen but from the text provided it seemed that Cummings was interjecting a view point that one can infer from the situation and the context of the word greed.
The reason I favor JBF over other sports outlets is the honesty and plugged-in opinion one can get from this website. But if I am just being honest, that play is selfish. It’s selfish because statically speaking there is a higher chance of success or a FG then that. You’re asking for a miracle on a broken play in a preseason game. Any given play there is a high risk of injury but I am sure that we can all agree that fighting a sack in preseason game when the kicking game could use all the live work it needs is slightly selfish, coupled with the fact that Jameis needs to cut down on boneheaded plays if he wants to remembered as one of best. Instead of making sure we have a kicker who can make what are supposedly surefire kicks like that would have been, we got that play. If we have a kicker who can make kicks like that, then yes, going for 6 when you ‘should’ have a 3 is selfish.
August 26th, 2017 at 9:33 pm
Is not necessarily knownable
August 27th, 2017 at 12:19 am
Bradentonbuc. The play wasn’t selfish, it was stupid. No thought behind it. It happened to quick for that. Just a stupid question throw.
August 27th, 2017 at 12:20 am
Stupid throw
August 27th, 2017 at 12:21 am
So much for Winston’s “high football IQ”.
August 27th, 2017 at 9:01 pm
LongSeason. Moulton was fired by the ESPN station after he complained in his Fort Myers News Press article of how his partner Mark Miller was fired. There are a couple of other sports radio stations in Punta Gorda (1070 NBC sports) and Fort Myers (1240 Fox Sports) and he might be on one of those but I think right now he is just writing for the news-press and the 2 dorks who started this thing with Cummings are his replacements. Talk radio is really dying out as is shown by the current talent on stations like that Estero station as well as the probs WDAE is having….. I get a lot more out of the podcasts available here on JBF than any of the above mentioned stations or the Times……