ESPN Had Te’o Hoax Story Before Deadspin, But Let it Slip Away

New media>Old media. ESPN got a tip from Manti Teo’s agent about the hoax a day before Deadspin.com did, but ultimately were left wringing their hands and worrying about what to do while Deadspin got the scoop. (His agent? Does he really think this will somehow boost Te’s chances in the draft?) According to an account in the New York Times, ESPN wanted to get an interview with Te’o to get his reaction before publishing, which caused the delay. In other words, ESPN did the old school thing, waiting to be sure, and Deadspin did the new school thing and just went ahead with it. For what it’s worth, I got my information from the New York Times, but Sports Illustrated beat them to the bunch on this very same story. [New York Times]