The latest development in the Hill story broke about two hours before the Draft startedGETTY IMAGES
NFL Network did not mention one of Thursday night's "biggest stories in sports" -- the audio leak of Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill discussing with his fiancee his three-year-old son's broken arm -- during its live coverage of the NFL Draft, according to Andrew Marchand of the N.Y. POST. The story broke "two hours before the first round began," and it "deserved some discussion if a network expects to be fully trusted." ESPN "wasn't perfect" in how it covered the Hill story, but it "did better" than NFL Network. The net's Sam Ponder talked to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell "before the existence of the tape surfaced," and she did ask about Hill's status. Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen later "provided some more information," though ESPN "apparently forgot about it" once the Draft began. Meanwhile, It "would have been fair" for ABC's Robin Roberts to ask Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes about the situation "during one of the segments on which he appeared during the network broadcast." Conversely, NFL Network, ESPN and ABC "all mentioned that Titans first-round pick Jeffery Simmons had struck a woman as a teenager" before attending Mississippi State (N.Y. POST, 4/26).
DIFFERENT CASE WITH SIMMONS: In Phoenix, Billy Goodykoontz noted ESPN's Trey Wingo "immediately mentioned Simmons' involvement in an altercation with a young woman when he was in high school" after the Titans took him with the No. 19 pick. The net then "showed the video of the incident." Goodykoontz: "Good for ESPN. It was an act of actual journalism (which predictably ticked off trolls on Twitter)." While the analysts "sounded a lot like they were trying to downplay it, Wingo continued to suggest that the incident might be a reason Simmons dropped to No. 19" (AZCENTRAL.com, 4/25). Wingo during the broadcast said, "We're just telling you what people have said about him. We are not passing judgment. You are entitled to feel any way you want about that" ("NFL Draft," ESPN, 4/25).
