Everybody makes mistakes, and writers will be the first ones to admit that they’re not perfect and get things wrong sometimes in the pieces they file just like the next guy.
It is important for writers to ask their editors to make an edit or correction to their report. This will allow anyone who clicks on the link to be able see the update right from the top. Depending on how big the error was, sometimes it’s best if the original piece is archived and a new one is put in its place noting the issues with what was originally written in the interests of full transparency.
With all of that in mind, we turn to an opinion piece that was published Saturday at the Deadspin website, which I’ve been told is one of the more “woke” sports news and information sites on the Intertubes.
Sean Beckwith’s story was about how unfair it was for Mike McDaniel, the San Francisco 49ers offense coordinator to be considered as a candidate for an NFL head coach position. Beckwith said that McDaniel, a white man, was the problem and that the NFL didn’t need another white coach right now.
In a piece that included a subheadline that read “Please stop and think before you inadvertently dub another young, white guy as the next hot NFL coaching prospect,” Beckwith wrote:
Mike McDaniel, the San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator who has gone viral for his “adorable” news conferences featuring references to Mike Jones and engaging answers, is ticking off all the boxes to be the next trendy, young, white guy who takes a head coaching position before one of the many deserving Black candidates.
[…]
He might be brilliant, he might be the next Josh McDaniels, but he’s not more qualified than any of the Black coaches who just got fired — including Brian Flores — or the longtime coordinators who can’t seem to get hired.
Although the Texans are perhaps the worst example of not offering a Black coach a chance, they were interested in Josh McCown. McCown was a former high school coach who worked for one year. McDaniel, however, is a great example of how Black candidates can be overlooked.
While the piece was ticked all the appropriate “woke” boxes it was supposed to, there was just one teensy thing wrong.
McDaniels biracialAccording to a NBC Sports Report from March 2021, the following:
McDaniel said he had an epiphany at an early age when he was visiting his grandmother on his father’s side of the game. McDaniel realized that he was not the same as other family members after he looked around at all the photographs.
“It is surreal when I think about it, but I remember one particular day, walking around and all of a sudden noticing that, ‘Hey, I’m the only fair-skinned person in all these picture frames,’” McDaniel said. “My grandmother on my dad’s side is Black. My dad’s Black.
The editors left Beckwith’s piece as is but did post an embarrassing note at the top of the page:
We learned after the publication of this article that 49ers OC Mike McDaniel, whom we describe as a “white guy,” is in fact biracial. The article’s original text remains below. We apologize for this error.
Can you say “cringe”?
This isn’t the first time Deadspin’s been caught writing about a topic on which they clearly know nothing. Back in December, they tweeted and then later deleted a post in which they called ESPN anchor Sage Steele, who is a conservative, the “black Candace Owens,” apparently unaware that Steele is black.
To quote the sports commentator whose name I can’t remember offhand: Go on!, man. It’s bad enough to inject wokeness in everything, but try to learn the basics next time.
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