Former New York Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis is overjoyed to learn former beat reporter Manish Mehta's credibility has taken a potentially irreparable hit.
According to Ben Strauss of the Washington Post, the New York Daily News reportedly had Mehta take credit for quotes and information used by NFL writer Charles McDonald after Mehta had his credentials taken away from the Jets.
Mehta was officially removed as the team's beat reporter on Thursday, prompting multiple former Jets to respond.
Longtime Jets center Nick Mangold posted a Seinfeld GIF seemingly mocking Mehta's removal, and Revis quote-tweeted Mangold with his own Loony Tunes-type caption of “Yep! That's all folks.”
Yep! That’s all folks. https://t.co/KI26Pn2h5k
— Darrelle Revis (@Revis24) December 11, 2020
Strauss reported McDonald, who has since left the Daily News, would jot down observations and feed them to Mehta, who would then publish under his own bylines:
He relayed observations from practice, he said, only to see them published under Mehta’s byline. Mehta demanded that McDonald hold his phone up to Zoom news conferences and tweeted quotes in real time. And he wanted McDonald, 26, to ask ridiculous questions over Zoom, such as whether the Jets had not signed a player because Mehta reported they were considering it.
Mehta also reportedly wanted McDonald to ask leading questions because he had posited theories about the team signing players in his stories.
McDonald eventually stopped complying with Mehta's wishes and blocked him before leaving the Daily News and telling the media world the Jets had Mehta's credentials revoked.
Clearly, Jets players also question Mehta's integrity as a reporter. Perhaps the Daily News will be better off, though the paper itself should be under fire for allowing Mehta to operate in this fashion for such an extended period of time.
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