Hockey Insiderr, An Anonymous NHL Source, Is Nothing But A Fraud: REVISITED

Coming Clean

By this point, I realized that enough was enough. I had created a false rumor, fed it to this guy, and he had publicized it to tens of thousands of followers.

So, I came clean. I emailed him saying that the whole thing was a scam and no trade was close to happening. I told him that I had drafted an article documenting this whole process and would expose him for not being who he claims to be. I also gave him a chance to respond with any comments defending himself that I could insert into this article.

At 7:22 PM Wednesday night, I got a reply that did nothing to help his cause.

Here are a some excerpts and takeaways from his lengthy response:

"Rest assured that I have verified with my sources before posting the update. My sources have confirmed Bruins, Leafs and Habs are all interested in Clowe."

“Sources” have confirmed it? Do a quick Google search for “Ryane Clowe” followed by the team’s name and you will see that there have been rumors spread all around regarding Clowe being dealt to this and that team.

What I was most intrigued by were his next words:

"I couldn’t get the confirmation that the Bruins were the front runners, and that they were offering a 2nd plus a prospect, but I posted it as what it was: a rumor. I haven’t tagged #CONFIRMED next to it… You have to understand I’m in the RUMOR business. I report what I hear, and I use my judgement to only put out there stories that are communicated to me by people with hockey knowledge."

So he was only able to confirm that three teams were interested in Clowe, which everyone knows already. But when it came down to the specifics that I made up to him, he was never able to confirm it, yet he still went ahead and reported it.

Reporting rumors without checking with any source is not how real journalists work. Does TSN’s Darren Dreger report every rumor he hears, even those sent via email by someone he has never contacted before?

He also claimed that he was not a fraud, saying:

"I am an ex NHL er who shares the rumors he hears from various sources with the people who follow him and go on his website. I have absolutely nothing to come clean about, as all I say is honest and I will not answer to any questions about myself and/or my identity."

Nothing that I already didn’t know, which again, does not help his cause. Rule #1 in journalism is to never trust people you don’t know, especially those who insist that they remain anonymous. As long as this “insider” stays under cover, he is not and will never be a trusted source.

Finally, he had the audacity to take a shot at me, calling me “unethical” in coaxing him to produce this false report. Apparently he had done some background research on me and verified that I was indeed the editor of this site (for once he confirmed something correctly). Based on that fact alone, the “insider” considered me a source that he could rely on and published my fake rumor. What was the #1 rule in journalism again?

He concluded his response by telling me:

"This is the last message I write to you, as I do not need to surround myself with people such as yourself."

Likewise, I do not need to surround myself with people like him.