Tom Rinaldi displayed some questionable journalistic ethics when he gave Mark Dantonio a hug after completing an interview with the Michigan State coach following the Rose Bowl on Wednesday.
Rinaldi conducted the on-field postgame interview with Dantonio on behalf of ESPN, and the interview actually lasted longer than most postgame interviews. After about five questions, Rinaldi ended the interview. He was then seen on camera going in to give Dantonio a hug. The interview is below, but the hug was not included in the video shared on ESPN’s website.
Journalistic ethics preach an unbiased approach. It’s kind of hard to achieve that when the interviewer is hugging his subject.
I’d say this sort of thing is surprising, but we’ve actually seen worse from Rinaldi in the past.
Photo: Twitter/WakeOfWeek
