Notre Dame was unable to complete a late comeback against Ohio State in the College Football Playoff National Championship game on Monday night, and one reporter claims the Fighting Irish did not handle the loss with grace.
Following Ohio State’s 34-23 win over Notre Dame, Dan Wolken of USA Today accused the Irish of “amateur hour” behavior in their locker room. Wolken said players were yelling at reporters and coaches were shooting orders at the media.
“Bizarre scenes from the Notre Dame locker room, players yelling at reporters, coaches warning people not to ask certain questions. Amateur hour,” Wolken wrote.
Bizarre scenes from the Notre Dame locker room, players yelling at reporters, coaches warning people not to ask certain questions. Amateur hour.
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) January 21, 2025
One follower then accused Wolken of acting entitled, and the reporter doubled down.
“I think that if the locker room is open, which it is for the CFP, reporters should be able to go in there and respectfully ask questions without being sworn at. If a player doesn’t want to talk, that’s fine,” Wolken replied.
I think that if the locker room is open, which it is for the CFP, reporters should be able to go in there and respectfully ask questions without being sworn at. If a player doesn’t want to talk, that’s fine.
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) January 21, 2025
You can understand why Notre Dame players and coaches were in no mood to be interviewed. Head coach Marcus Freeman made some highly questionable decisions during the game, which led to tough questions from the media.
The context is obviously important. Skeptics will say Wolken only gave his side of the story, though the behavior must have been out of the ordinary for him to complain about it publicly.
