‘Offer Still Stands’ — NFL Insider Mike Florio Responds to ESPN Reporter Who Called Him Out Publicly
· Yahoo Sports
Beef, complaining, grudges, whatever term is used, it has been a constant on social media. That is certainly no different in the sports world, as a recent exchange between Mike Florio and an ESPN reporter is the latest example of social media drama.
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This all started on July 26, when the ProFootballTalk account, a digital brand that Florio created, shared an article and wrote on X, “The Kyle Shanahan car accident happened on July 14. It was a matter of public record. The 49ers wanted to keep it quiet until training camp opened on July 25. And, instead of reporting publicly available facts, the reporters who knew about it complied.”
The article, which is linked, was titled “49ers wanted to keep Shanahan accident quiet, and some in the media complied”.
In a response to Florio’s post, ESPN senior writer Don Van Natta Jr. had some very interesting words. He took issue with Florio bringing up his own conversation with another NFL insider, Jay Glazer.
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Van Natta said, “Seriously, Florio? I have done this kind of investigative work for 14 years and you’ve piggybacked on ALL my reporting, and monetized it. And you learned how this speak truth to power thing works from insider Jay Glazer?! I can’t stop laughing.”
The ProFootballTalk account, run by Florio, had some words for Van Natta’s reply.
Florio said, “Hi Don. I hope you’re doing well. Remember the time you whined about something fairly insignificant to me via DM, and I said if you don’t want us to amplify your work in the future just say the word? That offer still stands.”
In terms of how nasty social media interactions can get, this was a pretty calm exchange, all things considered. Even though he got called out, Florio responded using no harsh language, and the tweet was composed.
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Some might argue that Florio should have handled this privately, for example, by messaging Van Natta directly. However, Florio’s public response shows that he wants to protect his reputation and image.
It also sets a precedent: if someone else calls out Florio, they will receive a response. Another reason Florio is justified is that Van Natta publicly called him out. If he said something to Florio privately, and Florio took it public, that could be perceived as an issue.
In this situation, it seemed Van Natta could have benefited from messaging Florio, as causing a scene on X does not seem to help his case.
Overall, this is an example of how wild the world of sports social media can be.