When a Shams Charania report claimed that the Memphis Grizzlies would not bring Brooks back “under any circumstances,” Dillon Brooks was injured as badly as we have seen any player injured by their former team.
Many people noticed the language there and thought it was shockingly strong, including this website. Perhaps not, given that it was pretty clear that Brooks was not the cause of the issue in Memphis.
On First Take today, JJ Redick spent some time outlining all the issues he had with the way the report was worded and how it represented everything that was wrong with the modern media landscape.
Redick’s frustration is palpable and many undoubteldy feel the same but the root of his criticism that it was all for engagement feels a bit… misplaced. Aside from the fact that complaining about engagement bait on First Take feels so lacking in self-awareness it’s almost a gag, the whole insider system in place here is built around engagement. It’s why Shams and Woj and all them are so well-compensated. If it weren’t for the interest of the fans and the engagement that stems directly from that interest then insiders as we know them would not exist.
The Brooks thing definitely sucked from pretty much every angle and is a good example of the worst kind of information dissemination that happens in this ecosystem. Shams and others in his profession are often far too willing to light someone’s reputation on fire in exchange for access when it is not at all necessary. Saying the Grizzlies wouldn’t be bringing Brooks back is reporting. Saying they wouldn’t do it “under any circumstances” doesn’t feel like reporting. It feels something closer to rumor-mongering.
