Journalist Graham Bensinger has found himself mired in controversy after an episode with Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald, where the latter made remarks about Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton.
Macdonald had revealed that Payton threatened to accuse the Seahawks of cheating. However, the head coach later clarified that he did not know the clip would be made public. So it stings for me, frankly, but it’s something I’m definitely gonna learn from,” as per The Athletic . “The situation is another reminder that everything is potentially on the record, absent a clear agreement between the parties that it’s not. Unfortunately, it had already been clipped from our interview by online outlets and circulated elsewhere. I have tremendous respect for Coach. We spent significant time together in Seattle, and I came away impressed not only by what he has accomplished in such a short period of time, but by the person he is. The last thing I want is for one exchange to overshadow that story.
On September 23, Macdonald said “Honestly, I gotta be better in that moment for understanding, look, I’m responsible for what I say, really no matter the circumstance, whether you’re mic’d up, whether you’re not, whether you have some type of understanding,” adding, “So I fell short in that moment. Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio said that future interviewees could be wary after this situation. And while Bensinger’s people didn’t breach any journalistic rules by using it, the fact that it was posted could make future subjects more leery about agreeing to be interviewed,” he said. In the viral clip, Macdonald had said “So, he called John (Schneider) and he basically like threatened to come out publicly and do it like a whole Patriot Spygate type of thing… We didn’t cheat. I immediately told him we would remove that portion, and we did. I told Coach that, in hindsight, I regretted allowing that exchange to be included and that it was my error in judgment.
I also have great respect for Sean Payton, whom I had the opportunity to profile previously,” the journalist added. “Coach Macdonald reached out to me directly yesterday morning expressing concern.
