USA TODAY's Jeff Zillgitt cites a Deadspin report which said that an ESPN employee recorded a private conversation between "The Jump" host Rachel Nichols and another person and "distributed video clips of that recording in an attempt to smear Nichols." ESPN in a statement said it was "extremely disappointed about the leak." According to Deadspin, which "received the videos but did not publish them, Nichols’ face never appears on camera as she talks about personnel matters at ESPN." Deadspin did "not report the contents of the conversation because it was 'unable to view the entirety of the conversation recorded'" (USA TODAY, 7/17).
UNDER INVESTIGATION: VICE's Strachan & Wagner reported the L.A. Times placed sports columnist Arash Markazi on "paid leave as the newspaper investigates potential ethical lapses." Members of the newspaper’s sports department "sent a letter to leadership stating that they were 'angry and embarrassed about the repeated ethical breaches' by Markazi, which they claimed included 'plagiarism, misrepresenting how his information for stories is obtained, and using his social media accounts to work as a de facto PR representative.'" The signees wrote Markazi’s actions have “negatively affected reporters’ relationships with the people, teams, and leagues that we cover, as well as our peers" (VICE.com, 7/16).
CHANGES COMING IN DETROIT: In Detroit, Meredith Spelbring reports Rico Beard will join Mike Valenti on WXYT-FM as a co-host on the "Mike Valenti Show," now "known as the 'Mike Valenti Show with Rico.'" Beard will join the show on weekdays, beginning Aug. 3. The show's "on-air contributor and producer Mike Sullivan is leaving the show, with his final day at the station July 31" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 7/17).
