It’s been a pretty awful few weeks when it comes to the standards of sports reporting, with unsubstantiated claims about Mason Greenwood being closely followed by outrage at Marcus Rashford spending his own money.
Sadly the dedication to demonising some of our best homegrown talent is nothing new, however it feels like we’ve grown so accustomed to it, that it isn’t such a big issue.
Ok, so let’s address this. I’m 23. I came from little. I need to protect not just my future but my family’s too. To do that I made a decision at the beg of 2020 to start investing more in property. Please don’t run stories like this alongside refs to ‘campaigning’. pic.twitter.com/coqla2i19d
— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) November 15, 2020
The recent coverage has led to an old clip of Sir Alex Ferguson resurfacing, in which he warns journalists about twisting his words in their reports, which had led to him banning a selection of reporters.
He doesn’t mince words as he warns a number of people in the room that they would be banned for good if the inaccurate reporting continued.
“I got fed up with it, your job is to tell the truth. That’s your job.” Ferguson says.
“You can quote me, things I have said, but I’m not going to have you twisting everything I say. So the next time, it’s finished, you don’t ever get back in.”
“I’m fed up of having to read papers twist it. Things I’ve said and I know I’ve said, and you completely twist it round, lie. Your job is to tell the truth, that’s your job as a journalist and if you can’t do that you’re in the wrong job.”
The exchange was a prime example of Ferguson’s often rocky relationship with the press, with the United legend famously refusing to entertain false reporting and gossip.
Featured image credit: Getty