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For a full day, Fox Sports NFL reporter Jay Glazer teased he had some news to break on his Fox Football Now show on Wednesday. And not just any news, but big, national news.
A co-worker tweeted about the incoming news and, soon, a wave of speculation hit the coronavirus-weary internet. What could it be? A signing? A trade? A change in the NFL landscape? Glazer tweeted multiple times Wednesday to say what the news wasn’t, but you had to tune into his show — 11 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. PT — to find out what it was.
Lo and behold, the show arrived, and Glazer revealed his much-hyped news: Los Angeles Rams center Brian Allen had tested positive for coronavirus ... three weeks ago.
Jay Glazer’s big — and maligned — coronavirus scoop
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Breaking: First active NFL player to test positive for the corona virus, Rams C Brian Allen, told (cont) [
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While its was certainly a noteworthy development given that Allen was the first known NFL player to test positive for the coronavirus (he was soon joined by the Denver Broncos’ Von Miller), many were still rubbed the wrong way by how Glazer treated the news.
[ Coronavirus: How the sports world is responding to the pandemic ]
Glazer’s tweet of the news was quickly inundated with thousands of replies. “You’re cancelled,” “Unfollowed,” “What is wrong with you” and “Can’t believe I stayed up till 11 for this” pretty much sum up the mood of the response.
There were likely several reasons behind the blowback: Glazer’s news was notable, but involved a little-known player and didn’t represent any big change for the NFL; people are likely somewhat weary of hearing about coronavirus and were hoping for something new; and Glazer seemed to have used news about a pandemic to pump up the ratings of his own show.
It was, at best, an awkward way to break a bit of news, and, at worst, exploitative.
NFL insider Jay Glazer is interviewed by Peter King on Radio Row at the Super Bowl, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020, in Miami Beach, Fla. (Gregory Payan/AP Images for NFL)View photos
Jay Glazer is receiving plenty of backlash for how he handled a piece of coronavirus news. (Gregory Payan/AP Images for NFL)
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The next day, Glazer explained his side of the story during an appearance on an episode of the podcast “Green Light with Chris Long.”
Why Jay Glazer handled the Brian Allen story the way he did
As Glazer tells it, he only teased the story to his co-workers, who then ramped up the hype past what Glazer thought was appropriate. By the next morning, NFL players, coaches, executives and owners were texting him to find out what the news was.
Glazer defended the story as national news, which wasn’t wrong. The first known NFL player to get coroanvirus is definitely noteworthy for the league.
