Reporting on St. Louis Rams defensive end Michael Sam’s quest to make the Week 1 roster, ESPN’s Josina Anderson on Tuesday relayed information from Rams players regarding Sam’s shower habits.

Sam, who is the first openly-gay player in the NFL, earned SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors at Missouri last season and is thought to be in a fierce competition for the team’s final defensive line roster spot after St. Louis drafted him in the seventh round.

Anderson spent a healthy portion of her on-camera report discussing, well, whether or not Sam showers with his teammates.

“Another Rams defensive player told me that, quote, ‘Sam is respecting our space,’ and that, from his perspective, he seems to think that Michael Sam is waiting to kind of take a shower as not to make his teammates feel uncomfortable,” Anderson said.

The video immediately drew heavy criticism.

“I’m extremely disappointed in her piece,” coach Jeff Fisher told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I think it’s unethical. I think it’s very, very unprofessional. Not only the piece itself, but the content. The manner in which she did it.

“Obviously she came in, in all likelihood to see if there was gonna be a roster move at the 75(-player limit) cutdown as it relates to Mike Sam. That didn’t happen. But she needed to do something, and it’s my understanding that she manufactured this story.

“She was out of line because she went and contacted several players on their personal time. Mislead them with questions and then put this piece together.”

Fellow Rams defensive end Chris Long also scolded ESPN.

ESPN released an apology Wednesday.

“(We regret) the manner in which we presented our report,” the network said in a statement. “Clearly on Tuesday we collectively failed to meet the standards we have set in reporting on LGBT-related topics in sports.”

It’s an interesting case in media ethics. Fair or not, ESPN has developed a reputation for headline-chasing and for selectively playing up certain stories. But Sam’s assimilation into the NFL culture as a gay man is a serious topic. So much has been made about whether the locker room culture is homophobic.

It’s a terribly uncomfortable subject, but players do shower together after practice and games. In some way, whether or not Sam showers with his teammates, and whether or not they’re OK with it, is a central issue to the question, “Is the NFL accepting of gay players?”

If Anderson indeed attempted to disguise the goal of her piece, as Fisher suggested, then an apology absolutely is warranted. I can understand why the team (and Fisher, Long and the rest of Sam’s teammates) are against the report as well. The way Anderson framed it seems awkward and out of place.

If there were any serious social divisions within the team while Sam played at Missouri, they never became public. (Sam reportedly acknowledged his sexual orientation before the 2013 season.) But if Sam really is avoiding the showers in deference to his teammates, it’s a significant and telling fact about the culture of football in 2014.