Phoenix New Times 'NBA Tattoo Cap' Debacle: What Had Happened Was...

UPDATE 11/3/10: Phoenix New Times fails again with a Steve Nash retirement hoax.

Earlier I mentioned a curious Phoenix New Times article about tattoos in the NBA that refers to a ludicrous NBA "tattoo cap" whereby teams would be limited to 61% arm and neck tattoo coverage as a team. David Stern is quoted as saying he does not want to "scare the bejesus out of affluent demographic groups." The New Times article claimed FoxSports.com as the source, but was in fact quoting a clearly satirical blog post by Con Chapman that appeared in Fox's community section. Fellow sports media professional Matt Watson originally alerted me to the article and we got a good laugh out of it. I then tried unsuccessfully a couple of times to get a response from the paper. In the meantime, I made contact with the hilarious Con Chapman, and we had a good laugh about the matter. Finally this morning I got a message through to the author of the article, Niki D'Andrea.

Ms. D'Andrea seems like a very nice woman, and I hate to be a hater here... after all, there are lots of very nice people who just aren't web savvy, aren't quick to understand things, and make terribly embarrassing errors... but those people should not be PAID STAFF WRITERS AT NEWSPAPERS. As a female trying to earn my own credibility in the media world as an editor at Yardbarker.com, I actually feel personally upset by incidents like this. Sh*t like this brings us all down. This woman was going around asking NBA players about this proposed tattoo cap. My mind implodes.

Niki replied to my email right away and asked if we could speak on the phone. She indicated in her email that she still wasn't sure if she had been duped or not. Couple of things: 1) How could you still not be sure you had been duped? Read the full hilariousness of the Con Chapman post, consider the sheer ridiculousness of David Stern's supposed quote, do a quick Google search to see if any news site talked about this "tattoo cap"... 2) If you are trying to get to the bottom of this matter, why do you want to waste time talking to me? You have no idea who I am. Spend your time talking to the NBA or a trusted source who reports on the NBA, right?

I found out later why she wanted to talk to me -- so she could quote me in her retraction blog post! Not that I mind being quoted, I think it's hilarious (although the last portion of the quote is not what I believe I said...). I guess I know that you are always on the record when talking to a reporter -- forgive me for forgetting that she's a reporter.

Anyway, in our phone call she told me that she had "heard" about the tattoo cap, couldn't get the NBA to return her calls about it, did a Google search and found the FoxSports "article" and... decided to go ahead and print it. Questions still unanswered include: 1) Since when does one Google search yielding one satirical blog post constitute adequate reporting? 2) Where was her editor? 3) Where was the fact-checker? 4) Where was the guy who takes out the trash who occasionally watches Sports Center who might have leaned over her desk and caught a glimpse of this story and realized right away that it was completely unbelievable?

I still have not gotten a reply from editor Rick Barrs about this story. Which, by the way, is the cover story... on stands now... in Phoenix... while the entire NBA world visits for All Star Weekend. OOPS!

Again, I'm not usually a hater. But incompetence like this (on the part of the author, the editor, the whole New Times organization) needs to be addressed, and not just with a cutesy "mea culpa" blog post. I know so many talented writers, editors, bloggers, and fact checkers who all struggle to find work. To see people like D'Andrea and Barrs holding staff positions at papers makes me angry. If you think I'm being overly harsh for one mistake, I challenge you to read the full 5,000 or so words of this article and tell me it doesn't have several other suspect items. For that matter, Google Niki D'Andrea and see what others have said about her previous work. (Now, if you want to see some quality investigative reporting, check out this incredible piece by Ed Kohler about how the New Times organization exploits the Digg system to get traffic. Somebody give THAT guy a promotion!)

One last thing, in her retraction blog post, Niki refers to me as "a sports blogger in Pennsylvania." Perhaps she deduced this by Googling the area code of the cell phone number I gave her. You know, instead of just asking me, the direct source. I'm actually a sports editor in California.

Note to journalists: the photo at the top of this post is SATIRE. Please do not reproduce as fact.

Thank you to those who have linked up this story, including ESPN's True Hoop, Poynter.org, Heat City, MediaBistro (x2), Sports by Brooks, The Big Lead, Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (x2), The Two Man Game, Bootlegger Sports, Sporting Madness, Can't Stop the Bleeding, Arizona Sports Fans Network, DallasBasketball.com, Brian's Thoughts About Airplanes, Strangepup, Los Angeles Times Pressmen... It is also being talked about on Gawker, Matt Davis, Yardbarker, NYMag, Maynard Institute, The Kicker...

UPDATE: Just found a piece published yesterday at Truth Wins Out (via David's Open Forum) slamming Niki D'Andrea for another article she wrote. The error and consequences on this one seem even larger than this NBA tattoo cap story.

UPDATE 2: I received an email from Niki D'Andrea saying the claims made in the Truth Wins Out link immediately above are part of a "slanderous smear campaign." I don't pretend to know enough about the story to sort out the details, but I'll offer the links to D'Andrea's two stories published on the matter. Regarding the NBA story, D'Andrea did tell me, "If you want to drag me through the mud over the first mistake I've ever made in more than 15 years in journalism, that's fine. Go ahead and have your day in the sun." Glad she picked a whopper for her FIRST mistake! I have to wonder what kinds of things she's been reporting on to make it 15 years mistake-free with a research method that consists of searching Google, quoting blog posts, and then failing to research further even when her "knee-jerk reaction" is that the story "might be a joke."

UPDATE 3: Thank you to all of the comment haters for humbling me!

Diddy Nickname Quiz: Adrian Peterson Chokes!

FAIL for Adrian Peterson. But all of the other stars we asked on the red carpet of Diddy's Good Life Experience party fared better. Watch the video to see Jordin Sparks, Deion and Pilar Sanders, Ryan Howard, Dwight Freeney, DJ Clue, Pepa, DeMarcus Ware, Devin Thomas, Andre Berto, Marcellus Wiley, Bernard Berrian, Winky Wright, DJ Orlando, and of course Yardbarker bloggers Calvin Pace, Ovie Mughelli, and D'Qwell Jackson and his wife. Love you much, Puffy!

NBA Tattoo Cap: It Was Supposed to Be Satire, Silly!

UPDATE: click through for a more detailed version of this story.

Thanks to my old friend Matt Watson for forwarding this curious Phoenix New Times article about tattoos and the NBA. The article is very long, and I'll be honest, I skimmed parts of it, so forgive me if I'm totally tripping here... but most of the article appears to be serious. There is a lot of information about the history of tattoos and about real tattoos that NBA players have -- and that stuff all appears to be factual.

But then there are a few obviously false items, and they seem to be presented as fact. For instance:

Anybody with tons of tattoos is subject to criticism, and NBA players are no exception. In February 2008, the NBA announced it would push for a "tattoo cap" on players when its collective bargaining agreement expires at the end of the 2011 season. "We feel it is important that our players not scare the bejesus out of affluent demographic groups with gangsta-style tattoos," NBA Commissioner David Stern told Foxsports.com. The proposed cap, as strange as it sounds, would require teams to limit their roster as a whole to 61 percent tattoo coverage of the "upper arms and necks." So if a team has a couple of players covered in tats, conceivably two or three players with flesh as pure as a baby's butt would be needed to offset.

Besides the fact that a tattoo cap is (hilariously) ludicrous, there is the matter of David Stern using the word "bejesus"... The attribution of the quote is given to FoxSports, but the quote actually appears only in this clearly satirical blog post by GerbilSportsNetwork on Fox's community site. There are some other curious quotes in the article, like the "thug" comment from mild-mannered Alando Tucker (actually, I don't know anything about Alando Tucker, maybe he would say some ish like that)... and a quote from Amare Stoudemire attributed to the always-reliable Zimbio.com (??).

Am I tripping? Am I so dense that I don't see that this whole article is really clever satire? Or is Ian Thomsen ghostwriting at New Times? Or was this article really poorly reported, lazily fact-checked, and not edited at all? I'm honestly confused, please help.

UPDATE: Thanks for the links, Jason. Apparently author Niki D'Andrea is an old internet favorite (exhibits 1, 2, 3)...

Photo courtesy of Ian Thomsen and his BS correction at the bottom of his article, yes I'm still bitter about that!

Puffy for President!! Diddy Campaign Kicks Off at Super Bowl

Ok, so he's not really campaigning, but when I asked Diddy on the red carpet of his Saturday night Super Bowl party who his VP would be when he runs for president, he responded in stride like it was a totally fair question. His answer was a little politician-y, but we got some better suggestions from the other guests on the red carpet like Pepa, Deion & Pilar, Ryan Howard, and a slew of NFLers like Adrian Peterson and Dwight Freeney.



By the way, anyone who knows me knows how much I love Puffy. Talking to him for a few seconds was the highlight of my week/year/life. Big thanks to the folks behind "The Good Life Experience with Diddy and Deion" party for letting Yardbarker run our goofy operation on the red carpet. We were getting some weird looks from the "real" celebrity reporters (i.e. Extra and Access Hollywood) but it was all worth it in the end. Stay tuned to my CafePress store for the "Vote Diddy or Die" T-shirts. NO MORE BITCH ASSNESS!!!

Super Bowl Videos: Diddy, T.O., and Miss America

Still here in Tampa on the scene. You can catch all of our Yardbarker Super Bowl coverage on our Super Bowl page. But here are a few of my favorites from the past day or so...

Diddy waves the Terrible Towel on the red carpet of his party. Why is he a Steelers fan, anyone know? (And stay tuned for more video on Diddy.)



Star athletes make their Super Bowl predictions, including Yardbarker favorite Terrell Owens and a Steelers player who may or may not make a guarantee.



Joe Montana and Miss America share an awkward moment.

How do you spell ROETHLISBERGER?

Here in Tampa we have asked everyone we've seen to spell Big Ben's name... yes, even including Reggie Bush and the lovely Kim Kardashian!

Super Bowl Dirt and Boobs

Live from Tampa, AlanaG brings you Super Bowl dirt and boobs, not together thankfully (unless you're into that). You can check out all of our Yardbarker Super Bowl coverage, but here are my two favorite videos so far. Stay tuned for much more!

Santonio Holmes' Steelers teammates talk sh*t about him (all in good fun):



Body paint girl shows us her boobs are real:



Honorable mention goes to my interview with Matt Cassel, because he had a hilarious story about a prank Matt Light played on a teammate.

Acie Law's $10,000 Cowboys Bet

Here's a funny snippet from my visit with Atlanta Hawks point guard Acie Law. He and his boy Scout apparently made a $10,000 bet on the Cowboys... just a "friendly" bet, settle down David Stern!


Stacks and stacks of cash brought to you by Jerry Maguire.

Global Warming Is HOT, Son!

I love global warming because 1) it's going to hit 70 degrees in San Francisco today in the middle of January, and 2) it compels people to make hilarious videos like this:


Realistic polar bear noises brought to you by former Chicago Bears tight end Ryan Wetnight.

Alana G's Thoughts on FanHouse BETA

I'm not sure I have too many thoughts other than confusion. As you may or may not know, I used to be the producer of AOL's FanHouse, following after the Blogfather Jamie Mottram and John "the Loch" Ness. Word from the inside is that a lot of internal things have changed since my departure amid controversy. Starting next week the site is also going to get an external change as it moves to FanHouse BETA.

There are still a lot of really talented bloggers at FanHouse, many of who are my friends. As long as those folks are still writing, there will still be good content there to read. Query whether readers will be confused by the addition of Jay Mariotti types, the increased emphasis on MSM leanings, the retro-ESPN nav, and the departure of a lot of the funnier bloggy bloggers... especially as AOL rebrands its sports channel as FanHouse... But hey, I'm sure they paid some marketing geniuses a lot of coin to come up with this, right? At least the new site looks alright. And the logo totally resonates with me and makes sense.

My favorite part of the site is the ultra-corporate Preview page explaining the new brand (FANHOUSEATTITUDE, totally rad!!). The following excerpt makes my eyes bleed. Anyone who has ever worked with me, John, or Jamie will know why.