Two prominent reporters got into a confrontation at a hotel near the NFL Scouting Combine earlier this week, and the league is looking into the incident.
Word first surfaced about the altercation when PFT Commenter, a sarcastic personality who works for Barstool Sports, reported that he heard there was a “serious big time media confrontation” at Starbucks where NFL security had to step in. While many understandably wondered if PFT Commenter was joking, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk quickly confirmed the report.
Florio said Jordan Schultz, a reporter for FOX Sports, confronted Ian Rapoport of NFL Media at the Starbucks inside the JW Marriott in Indianapolis, where many people are staying for the Combine. Rapoport was said to have been talking with an NFL agent when Schultz approached the NFL Media reporter and said the two needed to talk. Rapoport disagreed that the two needed to talk, and they reportedly got face-to-face, with Schultz making accusations about Rapoport.
On Thursday, an NFL spokesperson told Florio that security personnel are looking into the incident between Schultz and Rapoport.
Schultz is said to have told Rapoport that the two would have a problem if something happened again. Rapoport took that as a physical threat and alerted NFL Security.
It is likely that the confrontation between Schultz and Rapoport had something to do with what they each reported about Tom Brady’s recruitment of Matthew Stafford. Brady, a part-owner of the Raiders, supposedly wants to convince Stafford to play in Las Vegas. Schultz said Brady recently hosted Stafford at the seven-time Super Bowl champion’s home in Montana and the two went skiing together.
Rapoport then claimed Brady and Stafford merely bumped into each other by chance. You can read more details here.
Many fans have wondered how Brady’s reported recruitment of Stafford would not constitute a violation of NFL rules. The Rams have given Stafford’s camp permission to explore potential trades, so they may have been fine with their two-time Pro Bowl QB spending time with Brady. Or, Rapoport could be right that the two simply crossed paths by chance.
