CBS Sports writer slammed for implying Mike Leach insulted Lane Kiffin at introductory press conference
Transcribing a live press conference on the fly can be challenging, even for professionals. When someone only remembers the beginning and end of a quote, you’ll often see it tweeted with ellipses in the middle to imply part of the quote is missing. Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports is getting slammed on Twitter for using ellipses to piece together two unrelated comments made by Mike Leach in his introductory press conference at Mississippi State.
Dodd tweeted, “Leach right now at his presser: ‘I like Lane. I know you’re not supposed to like anything from Ole Miss … I like playing against crummy coaches more than I do good coaches.'”
Some people might have seen the tweet and assumed Leach was getting into the spirit of the Egg Bowl rivalry. That wasn’t the case, however, as Leach was actually complimentary of Kiffin before shifting focus to coaches he faced in the Pac-12 and the coaches he’ll face in the SEC West. Making the misquote worse, Kiffin has gone out of his way to praise Leach on social media since the MSU hiring became official.
You know those “reports” earlier on Mike Leach taking a shot at Lane Kiffin today? Not true at all. Judge for yourself. Here was the full quote. pic.twitter.com/jxLQMyhG2I
— Joel Coleman (@JoelTColeman) January 10, 2020
As you can see from the screenshot of the transcript, Dodd’s tweet was misleading. Twitter let him have it.
Looks like CBS messed up their college football coverage yet again.
— Kyle (@KPeeler17) January 10, 2020
This is why @CBSSports is a joke.
— Rane Ellison (@Rane_Ellison) January 10, 2020
This is sooo misleading. Leach was asked how he feels about being in a league with the likes of Saban, Malzahn, Fisher, @Lane_Kiffin , etc. While he joked & said he’d rather play against crummy coaches, he also said he’s coached vs a lot of top quality coaches in PAC-12, too.
— Evie Van Pelt (@OleMissEvie) January 10, 2020
You've somehow brought Ole Miss and MSU fans together. This is the first time that's happened since The Weather Channel referred to us as "Landmass". That's how bad that tweet is. I want that to truly sink in.
— Hamp Hickman (@HampHickman) January 10, 2020
Those ellipses are doing a lot of work. Not very honest work, but work.
— Smith Lilley (@feljr) January 10, 2020
Those ellipses are doing a lot of work.
— It’s Stringer (@MoString) January 10, 2020
You left out a lot! Irresponsible tweet.
— Larry Gann (@RLGann) January 10, 2020
Be better than this. This is ridiculous. The comments were completely unrelated. This is worse than a local FM shock-jock. Good lord.
— Tyler Wilson (@TylerWilson86) January 10, 2020
Did you fall asleep between the two different quotes?
— The Mart (@The_Mart_In_MS) January 10, 2020
https://twitter.com/MSUFanVburg/status/1215744228803993600
Come on. You’re better than this. Or at least I thought you were.
— Jeffrey Pipkin (@bluemtnrebel) January 10, 2020