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Thursday, August 16, 2001

Among the more curious developments of this young football season was the lecture on journalism that broke out during a news conference at Steelers training camp earlier this week.

The presiding professor was William Laird Cowher, a football coach whose journalism experience consists mainly of appearing on television and radio and, so we've heard, reading the newspaper. It's not much of a background to deliver this kind of lecture to the media. But someone was messing with his football team, and Cowher would not let it go unchallenged.

He was angered by a story that had appeared on ESPN.com, a popular and reputable Web site, and further incensed when the story was picked up by at least one news outlet in Pittsburgh.

The story in question was an attention-grabber for Steelers fans because not only did it deal with quarterback Kordell Stewart, but it also was critical of him. In the story, writer Mike Florio suggested that some defensive teammates were upset with Stewart because he had what the Web site promoted as a "big-time attitude." It also said some defensive backs favored Tommy Maddox over Stewart because he was better at looking off receivers. Some of the players thought Stewart was telegraphing his passes, that is tipping off where the ball was going before it was thrown.

Under normal circumstances this is a can't-go-wrong story. But these were not normal circumstances. There was something clearly missing from the story. Florio had no attribution. He said players made those statements but he did not name the players. With attribution, the story would have been outstanding and would have set off a media stampede to follow up on it. Without attribution, the story was suspect and most news outlets in town ignored it. Those that did follow up on it came up with nothing approaching the comments made in the original story.

John Marvel, the executive editor and vice-president of ESPN.com, strongly backed the story and his writer.

"We will go with unnamed sources if I know who they are," he said. "I know who they are and I'm very comfortable with them.

"Our rule, like that of a lot of newspapers, is if we source it twice [have two sources], we'll go with it."

What seemed peculiar was that Florio is not a regular on the Steelers beat and it is not likely -- though possible -- players would confide in a writer not well known to them on such a sensitive subject.

What lends credence to the story is the fact that the charges fit Stewart's character. He has been known to adopt a big-time attitude. He has been known, for sure, to telegraph his passes. And it might be perfectly understandable that some players are upset at how the starting job was handed to him and the preferential treatment he seems to receive.

If he's their guy, the players will stand behind Stewart. If they see another quarterback performing better, like Maddox, it's liable to start the kind of talk the Web site reported.

For the most part, ESPN.com has an excellent reputation. It's three top NFL reporters, John Clayton, Len Pasquarelli and Chris Mortensen, are among the best in the business.

The story, which was available only to subscribers to the Web site's Insider section, would not normally have a large audience. But it became a big hit only on local talk radio. At least one television station, believed to be WPXI, also picked up the story.

It seemed that a local outlet picking up the story bothered Cowher as much as the story itself.

He said: "Let me say this. I am not going to sit here and have people ... hide behind names. It's really a detriment to you people out there. When you people give credence to things like that, it makes me sick. It really does."

He challenged the aspect of the report that suggested players were unhappy.

"You've been up here. Do you see any disgruntlement? You've talked to [the players] every day. Do you hear any disgruntlement?"

Cowher delivered the message he wanted to the media, but in reacting so strongly he also called attention to the story to people who otherwise might not have seen it.

But the lecture doesn't wipe away the possibility -- and that's all it is -- that there are players unhappy with Stewart and how Stewart is treated.

And that is a football issue, not a journalistic one.

Bob Smizik can be reached at bsmizik@post-gazette.com.