Eagles petty PR staff eject beat writer for violating “fan code of conduct”
While the Eagles battled the Dallas Cowboys at Lincoln Financial Field, another battle was taking place in the press box between certain PR members and beat writers.
As Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles took on the rival Dallas Cowboys in the season finale down below, the more interesting action might have taken place higher up at the Lincoln Financial Field in the Eagles press box between a certain beat writer and the Eagles PR staff.
While a few writers and media members alike were discussing whether or not Wentz was tackled by the face mask, an employee of the Eagles “yelled” at the writers to quiet down.
While in a press box, there are certain rules that you must follow. It is a professional environment. Yelling, cheering, anything a fan might do is not permitted.
What transpired this past Sunday however between the Eagles beat writers is very common. There are always discussions about the game going on. Trying to figure out whether or not a penalty had taken place is part of the job. Accuracy in journalism is kind of important.
WIP’s Ray Didinger put it perfectly when describing the situation.
“There had to be a middle ground between ‘shush’ and calling in the national guard,” Didinger said.
Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer took exception to the staffer’s yelling and had what was described as a calm discussion with the employee.
Fifteen minutes later Eagles senior vice president of marketing Anne Gordon, joined by security informed McLane he was being ejected from the press box.
Gordon went on to say that she did not care about the image or backlash this would result in for the organization. Gordon threatened the reporters by warning anyone that took issue with McLane’s ejection would also be removed from the press box.
That kind of comment fits more for parents punishing their four and five year old kids.
One would think someone working in public relations, which is all about protecting an organization’s image, would care about how the Eagles would be perceived after this incident, right?
Not only was this incident completely out of line by the Eagles, quite frankly it is an embarrassment.
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Les Bowen, a long-time Eagles beat writer for the Inquirer called the Eagles decision to eject McLane “vengeful” and “petty”.
Although it may not relate to his ejection, McLane has been critical of Howie Roseman in recent posts at the Inquirer, making the decision to single out McLane, and the timing of the ejection suspicious.
The Eagles justified their decision by stating McLane had violated the fan code of conduct. McLane is a credentialed professional who is paid to cover the team. He is not a fan.
During the post game show on 94 WIP, program director Spike Eskin called into the show demanding the on air hosts stop discussing what happened in the press box.
Any caller that took issue with the Eagles decision was also cut off from the show.
94 WIP currently own the Eagles radio broadcasting rights which may point to why Eskin made his decision. WIP is not owned by the Eagles, however. The employees are not paid by the team. There are already too many propaganda pieces for the NFL and individual teams. Not just the PR department but mouth pieces such as Dave Spadaro who offer little to no insight that doesn’t benefit the team.
If writers and radio hosts alike cannot give their true opinions or voice their concerns with the team’s actions, what can they do?
Anne Gordon and the Eagles should be embarrassed.
Not only was there no justification for ejecting McLane, Gordon continuously declined to comment instead of describing her side of the story.
It was a move of power that was completely unnecessary.
How or if Gordon justifies this will be interesting to see in the near future.
Having the right touch of emotion and objectivity in writing is something many including myself find very important. Part of finding that emotion in a piece is by being keyed in on the game. Having different reactions when things go wrong or right. That doesn’t mean cheering or swearing should be prohibited, however a more lenient approach to the press box should be taken when it comes to such an already strict league like the NFL.
If credentialed media members cannot have in game discussions, serious changes must be made.