The problem with repeatedly denying a story with which a media outlet disagrees is that, with each denial, the story gets revived.
Last week, CBS denied through a spokesperson the claim from Andrew Marchand of the New York Post that the network conducted an offseason “intervention” with No. 1 analyst Tony Romo in effort to improve his performance. On Friday, CBS Sports President Sean McManus appeared on with Chris “Mad Dog” Russo on SiriusXM Mad Dog Radio to reiterate the company’s position on the matter.
“The thought that there is some kind of story behind the fact that I sat down with Tony to talk about how he can get better is just inaccurate,” McManus told Russo, via Jimmy Traina of SI.com.
“An enormous amount of people have come up to me who have said to me, ‘We really like Tony Romo,’” McManus said. “He’s different. He’s not your typical analyst. He is enthusiastic. He sometimes speaks more of a fan than even an analyst, which I think people like. So I think this is being overplayed.
“Social media, as you know, tends to be very vitriolic and unkind and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. And then when the mainstream media watches social media, they start ganging [up]. . . . Can he get better? We can all get better.”
Still, this year it felt like more than a social-media phenomenon. It felt like a collective agreement at a time when such things are very hard to achieve.
McManus is right. We all can get better. Some perhaps can get even better than others, and should probably make an effort to do so, with a Super Bowl season looming.
