Miguel Tejada Gets “The Business” from ESPN
April 22, 2008
“This is how we do,” Scott Van Pelt said to Mike Ditka.
Van Pelt was agreeing with NFL Live analyst Ditka’s telling New York Jets quarterback Chad Pennington to refrain from chastising members of the media because, as Ditka explained, they would do anything to impugn his character if they felt threatened.
A few years back ESPN embarked on an “investigative report” into NBA players’ practice of philandering, with expensive strip clubs - sometimes called “gentleman’s clubs” - as their main place of doing dirt. One of players interviewed for the segment was then New Orleans Hornets and now Golden State Warriors point guard, Baron Davis.
Davis answered some generic questions about the clubs but he was also circumspect and actually revealed little in the way of information that would act as an indictment of his brethren. In fact, his responses appeared to be “wink-wink, nod and a smile” in tone and expression. The five minute or so segment of a multi-day report was full of the contrived gravity that goes along with brief television “exposes” that, because of time constraints (or perhaps because, are almost always more about what they portend than what they actually reveal.
But in the end, it wasn’t the substance, or the fact that the story lacked revelatory material or meaningful information, that made this report stand out.
What imbued the alleged expose with meaning was the revelation a few days later that Davis told anyone who would listen that he was tricked into conducting the interview. Davis, through his agent, said that a producer at ESPN approached him for an interview for a humor/joke fake expose piece about the off-court doings of NBA players. After the news of Davis’ remarks were reported, ESPN immediately went on the defensive. During the 6 p.m. EST broadcast of their primary general sports news show, Sportscenter, a host of that show read an official ESPN-sponsored statement denying Davis’ claim. The sports media giant’s representatives stated that in no way was Davis tricked into conducting his interview and that the producers stand behind the manner in which they procured the interview.
Davis, though, was adamant in his claim that he was duped into conducting the interview; that ESPN caught him in one method of “ambush journalism.” As proof he proffered as further evidence of his innocence that his agent was also present for the interview and, before the interview could convene they asked repeatedly about the nature of the interview and were ensured that it was a humor piece - not an investigative report. When this information was revealed, ESPN, publicly, fell silent on the issue and never again mentioned Davis in relation to the interview. Soon after, it was reported by numerous sources that Davis avowed that he would never give anyone from ESPN another one-on-one interview. And there, public knowledge and consumption of the events surrounding the interview ended.
Interestingly, after Davis’ accusations ESPN did not further pursue the strip club-gentleman’s club story.
Now, with Miguel Tejada, we have another version of ambush journalism by ESPN. On Tuesday, April 22, ESPN will air an “E:60″ segment where ESPN.com and ESPN, the Magazine writer Tom Farrey interviewed Tejada and, without his prior knowledge, confronted the Houston Astro infielder with a copy of his birth certificate. The document showed that Tejada’s present age as 33, not 31, as originally believed. It also revealed that his true surname is Tejeda, not Tejada.
On ESPN commercials advertising Ferrey’s E:60 piece a voice-over ominously intones, “ESPN uncovers the secret and shadowy life of Miguel Tejada” (This was changed this morning and “shadowy was removed from the voice-over).
Miguel Tejada was born on May 25, 1974, not 1976. And his actual last name is Tejeda. After September 11, 2001, many baseball players from the Dominican Republic were found to possess altered birth certificates or used a relative’s or friend’s birth certificate in place of their own. All of this is generally done to make the player appear younger, making then appear more valuable as prospects to MLB teams. And if the players themselves are not performing this birth date sleight-of-hand, the middlemen who act as scouts for MLB teams but take a percentage of Dominican players’ signing bonuses and even their salaries, obtain altered birth certificates to magically turn a 20-year old who needs three years of minor league training before he might hit the bigs into an 18-year old prodigy.
With all this obfuscation floating around the Dominican baseball players - around the “training camps” set up by MLB teams - that Tejada is among these players should not be too much of a surprise. Also, according to Tejada, his green card and driver’s license reflect his actual age, so perhaps all Ferrey needed to do was to ask him for I.D. instead of digging around in a less than forthright manner.
Beyond this not-so revelation is the revelation that Tejada was under the impression that he was being interviewed for entirely different subject matter and was asked other questions when Farrey hurriedly broke out a copy of Tejada’s birth certificate and confronted him with it. According to Tom Weir and Reid Cherner of USA Today, Farrey’s act was reprehensible:
Here’s video of the ambush interview that led to Miguel Tejada telling the Houston Astros that he’s really 33 years old, not 31.
The discrepancy was revealed because of an interview by ESPN’s “E:60.”
Reporter Tom Farrey talked with Tejada on Tuesday and, with cameras rolling, surprised him with a copy of his birth certificate. Tejada reacted by taking off his microphone and walking out of the interview.
Yes, Farrey’s act was called “ambush journalism” by a mainstream publication. In the Houston Chronicle, Ex-NBA superstar Charles Barkley went further:
“I thought what they did to Miguel Tejada was one of the most Bush League things I’ve ever seen,” he said on Dan Patrick’s radio show today.
“I would have slapped the hell out of that guy. To sit a guy down for an interview for something else and to ambush him like that, that pisses me off.”
In the same Chronicle article, former MLB player and manager turned analyst, Buck Martinez, explained the plight of the Dominican player:
“You just don’t understand what these people are going through, how they are living and how baseball is their only avenue for any kind of life…Miguel Tejada was 19 and one of his coaches said, ‘You’re a little older; the best situation for you is tell them [the scouts] that you’re 17′… Juan Marichal signed him with the Athletics thinking he was 17.
“What’s the harm in this, really, when you think about it? Unless you’ve been to the Dominican Republic and see the conditions these people grow up under…many of these players come from the poorest, possible conditions. I remember Tony Fernandez talking about using a crushed milk carton for a glove to cushion his hand; they had nothing and played for the love of the game.”
Tejada’s explanation of his upbringing only confirms Martinez’s observations:
“I’m a poor kid that wanted to be a professional big leaguer,” he explained as he discussed his reasoning for claiming he was 17 instead of 19 to sign with the Oakland A’s in 1993. “I was thinking that was the only way that I could help my family. By the time we did it, it wasn’t because we wanted to do anything wrong to be a professional. “The scout just did it just because at that time I was two years older than I (told the A’s). And to play in the Dominican Summer League you got to be like 17. That’s why he changed the year. Because the only change is the year.”
Farrey surely knows the impoverished and desperate conditions in which many MLB players from the Dominican Republic are raised. However, Farrey has justified his low-handed tactics by saying that Tejada’s lying about his age and surname are an extension of the FBI investigation into allegations that he lied about steroid use though he was prominently mentioned in both Jose Canseco’s book “Juiced” and by way of that book in the Mitchell Report.
It is particularly specious and altogether unbelievable that Farrey went scrumming around Tejada’s past like he was a private detective caught head first in a corporation’s dumpster for the altruistic reason of aiding the government with its investigation of Miguel Tejada.
Unless, of course, Farrey is revealing that he is a paternalisitc jingoist at heart.
No no no, since neither of those excuses for Farrey’s actions are likely to be true, this boils down to yet another ESPN sports journalist willfully feeding the beast that is the 24-hour sports news cycle with unpalatable sensationalist pap intended only to elicit its share of knee-jerk reactions and generate a poll, or two.
Ambush journalism, yellow journalism, and idea theft (though this idea was previously used elsewhere on the Internet) are becoming par for the course for the sports news behemoth.
That ESPN is periodically outed - publicly - is a form of punishment for choosing ideology over merit and who you know or your “name” over the quality of the work produced; punishment for the many, many other instances of chicanery that go unwritten, unspoken, and remain unknown to sports fans, at large.
Because, as Miguel Tejada found out, at the Entertainment and Sports Programming Newtork, this is how they do.
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28 Responses to “Miguel Tejada Gets “The Business” from ESPN”
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Thanks dwil. It goes without saying that Tom Farrey was going for a “gotcha” moment, especially when E:60 paid a Dominican law firm to obtain Tejada’s birth certificate. Why can’t they pay the kid who took Roger Clemens’ picture at Jose Canseco’s party? E:60=TMZ.
All Black and Latino athletes should stop talking to the media. I canceled my subscription to ESPN the mag 10 years ago because of the biased writing. I stopped reading SI a long time ago also. The NFL network is starting to take on the same personality as ESPN with the tabloid journalism. And just because they have a few Black analysts, or tom-negros like Marshall Faulk, in the studio, it doesnt amount to fair coverage
I think Farrey and ESPN probably think that they’re doing the same kind of journalism as 60 Minutes and Mike Wallace. They’re definitely not. Miguel Tejada being 2 years older than originally thought is not something that the public is going to be outraged about unless the WWL hammers it down folks throat that if he lies about his age, then he’s a BALCO cheater. That seems to be their strategy.
I don’t think E:60 is doing too well ratings wise. My guess is this whole thing was a sorry attempt to pump up the ratings. Most news mags get poor ratings. Not a real need to sensationalize. Just come up with some topics that people are interested in, and maybe people will watch. But I forgot, this is EPSN, not Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.
[…] Sports On My Mind wrote an interesting post today on Miguel Tejada Gets "The Business" from ESPNHere’s a quick excerptA few years back ESPN embarked on an “investigative report” into NBA players’…Davis, through his agent, said that a producer at ESPN approached him for an interview for a humor/joke fake expose piece about the off-court doings of NBA players….In the Houston Chronicle, Ex-NBA superstar Charles Barkley went further:… […]
Anything to keep from following up on Rick Ankiel, Tony LaRussa’s Drunk of the Month/Dead Pitcher of the Year/Steroid User of the Decade Club. Anything to stay off Debbie Clemens’ ass. Anything at all.
ESPN does lick nuts - deeeeez nutz!
Good info Dwil.
I know you believe that if given a mainstream audience you would do a great job of bringing truth to the masses. I think that would be your goal as well.
Unfortunately, I don’t people really want truth, and I know for sure that ESPN and other mainstream sources aren’t trying to give people anything they don’t want. The popularity of shows like “To Catch a Predator” seem to prove that most citizens like their bad guys clearly defined and handed to them on a platter to hate. They don’t want to worry about ethics or any other complex issue.
Actually, I think everybody outside of players benefits from the current media setup. The owners and other administrators get a fairly free ride, so it’s actually not in their best interest to force companies like ESPN to adhere to the standards of journalism.
Excellent piece Dwil…..the ethics of the mainstream media and the blind culpability of the public makes me think of that children’s song - the wheels on the bus go round n round, round n round, round n round………
The plot thickens in Pacman’s case
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/football/nfl/04/21/pacman.extortion.ap/index.html
Big Man -
I was wondering if the new info on Pacman’s case would help him get reinstated. I’m also waiting on MODI to write a follow up article to the excellent articles he wrote about Pacman last year. Maybe the mainstream media and all were way to quick to judge Adam Jones. I know they’ll never admit it. There were always some things about that case that bothered me……
Kos,
I’m pretty sure Real Sports has already covered this issued along with the other issues that Dominican players face. Y’know a comprehnsive look at things. Right now my ESPN viewing is relegated to sportcenter highlights and ESPN news.
“so it’s actually not in their best interest to force companies like ESPN to adhere to the standards of journalism.”
Standards of jounalism? No such thing if you’re talking about MSM. Did you watch the Obama/Clinton “debate”. Or see the NY Times article on the paid war pimps shilling as suppose military analysts? Only two recent examples. Whatever; these people are Cartman doing what they want.
Good read. It’s common knowledge what takes place in the Dominican regarding players age, and it’s with the blessing of the major league teams. I recall several years back, where the dodgers were involved in the doctoring of Adrian Beltre’s birth certificate, so that they could secure his rights.
ESPN is full of chit. They let Harold Reynolds go on some nonsense, and they end up having to settle out of court. They squash the same allegations made against Jay Crawford and Woody Paige. Dana Jacobson drunken tirade was hardly reported on their network.
To my knowledge ESPN have never made a public stance against the racist hate mail that Jemele Hill receives after each of her articles. Regardless of what the sista writes about, the haters gleefully make their appearance.
What this was is a “if we can’t get him on steroids, we’ll get him on something else, something stupid and inconsequential.” Every athlete should see this and then question whether sit down interviews with ESPN reporters are worth the trouble.
Oh, and a prime reason why this was done: the sweeps period starts on Wednesday. Although the rules are different for cable and broadcast networks, if you ask anyone why you see more of these “gotcha” and meaningless pieces in the months of February, May, July, and November — that’s why. It’s time to draw ratings and ad dollars.
[…] pov wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptAfter September 11, 2001, many baseball players from the Dominican Republic were found to possess altered birth certificates or used a relative’s or friend’s birth certificate in place of their own. All of this is generally done to make … […]
Thank you all - and all excellent points….
BM-
I saw the Pacman news and am following it closely… and I gave up on MSM awhile ago. I had the nerve - and was foolish enough - to think there was room for truth along with all the other shizzz, if for nothing else, because fact is stranger than fiction can ever be, and it would make some corp. lots of dollars. But despite having worked in the MSM, it has been proven time and time again, through my own experiences with the MSM and with the hires by Big Box sports media outlets of Internet writers who do nothing but say the same crap all the MSM writers do - acting as “independent confirmation” - that there’s no room in the inn for what I and a handful of other writers on the ‘Nets do.
awb-
Hell, ESPN did a lengthy - for them - piece on middlemen in the Dominican, the conditions in the D.R., the “camps”, and more.
Great post Dwil.
What I find odd is that it was reported that Tejeda told Houston about the fake birth day afterwards. You’d think, as a normal measure, that Houston would ask for his birth certificate and/or driver’s license before they signed him.
You’d think.
Babar-
Yes, you would think… plus Tejada was the primary subject of a book some years back on players from the D.R. and nothing was unearthed then, either.
this is typical of the sports writing these days. This except was taken from hte following article about Chad Johnson on ESPN’S web site: Skins offer ‘08 first-rounder, ‘09 pick for Johnson; Cincy says no
“Johnson became the epitome of Cincinnati’s 7-9 season when he sniped at quarterback Carson Palmer during a loss to New England. Johnson ran the wrong route on a pass play, resulting in a game-turning interception. He initially blamed Palmer for the problem.”
I saw that play. It was a bad pass by Palmer that got picked off. And in typical style of caucasians athletes, he tried to blame Johnson for the play. Of course the TV “analysts” spun it Palmers way when he and Chad got into it on the sidelines- Palmer finished with two ints and a 65 QB rating for the game by the way, The relationship between them has deteriorated since, with Palmer speaking out about the Bengals so-called shortcoming, nevermind the fact that he didn’t exactly play at an all-star level last season. Yet he gets none of the blame while Chad is the “epitome” of what is wrong with the team. Perhaps if they can stop drafting busts like David Pollards and really try and address their defensive woes, this team can contend again. Oh yeah, the off-field stuff hasn’t helped either, but blaming the teams underachieving on Chad is str8 crackerbarrel sh!t.
Just another example
wa-diddy very true. But that is how the mainstream white media is.
As far as miguel he is dumb @ss hell didn’t he see what Rick Riley did to Sosa another black dominican.
Black folks all around the world will never learn. Whether you are a black american, black latin, black african or black european. Do not trust the mainstream white media. Period no ands buts or ifs about it.
No doubt!
One more thing I have been monitoring these fools on ESPN radio the last 2 days. Check this out so the last 2 mornings I listen to the fools Mike and mike. Do you know these fools spent more time over the last 2 days talking about zeke getting fired and krilenko flopping more then they have talking about the NBA playoffs. Now these may be the greatest playoffs in recent memory but all those fools and their dumb company can talk about is zeke, kirelinko and the g@d damn NFL draft.
Man I wish I didn’t waste my 2 mornings listen to that mess I swear I killed more brain cells then smoking crack listening to ESPN radio.
David Pollack, that bengal bust i mentioned earlier, just retired. Wasted draft pick on a mediocre player. And now the Dolphins are going to draft OT Long with the first pick. I would never draft an O-lineman first, I dont care who he is. I guess they weren’ t to trade the pick. He’s going to be another journeyman in the league. St lou is projecting to take Howie Long Jr.. What a joke. Ohio state’s Gholsten is a better player by far, but here we go again with the manufactured “talent” in Long. I guess Ryan will be the first QB, while Woodson and Dixon have been basically knocked off the map by Mayock and Kiper though both had much better senior seasons against tougher comp. Pathetic!
Despite the manufactured tempest by ESPN this story can and should blow over pretty quickly. Hey, Tejada did what he had to do and he didn’t hurt anybody so this should be a non-story but like Wingo said, ‘It’s what they do.”
Ocho 5 has written his check and I’m sure he knows it and doesn’t care. I’m sure I’ve heard him say in a few interviews that while he has nothing against the fans in Cincy he’s not making his decision for them but for himself and his future. I hope he sticks to his course because it’s good to see a player not always tout the company line of doing what’s best for the team despite cutting his own throat. CJ hasn’t called out anyone who hasn’t called his name first which should end all the TO comparisons.
The Bengals did cut their throat by not dealing him to Washington though because two first rounders for a WR hitting 30 is a no-brainer deal. Same old Bungles.
Harvey-
I don’t know about that. It’ll blow over if the govt. decides to allow it to blow over. If they choose to put the hammer down, Miggie can kiss his career bye=bye.
dwil — i completely agree w/ all of your points. it was like ‘to catch a tejada’ night on espn. they’re making mtv look like a bastion of original music information
espn also seems to sorely lack a knowledge of baseball history — lying about one’s age (upwards or down) has been going on in baseball for years and years. i think satchell paige put it best when he said age is mind over matter — if you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter!
dwil, thanks for posting this. this interview was complete bullshit. As far as I’m concerned Tejada would have been well within his rights to go Jim Everett on him ala Jim Rome…
MODI-
Yeah he would have… the segment was even more brutal.
[…] Because I used to tackle sports half the time, and now I write what I have to write But that was before I lost half my mind, and now I have only half the might… to write about sports beyond media watching, beyond the media botching, because they set-up AROD and Tejada with that sports media “gotcha” […]