May 9, 2022; San Francisco, California, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant (12) sits on the bench against the Golden State Warriors during the second quarter of game four of the second round for the 2022 NBA playoffs at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
ESPN aired a fake Ja Morant “quote” from Ballsack Sports during it’s “This Just In” program, and talked about it on air.
When it comes to social media, you have to be aware of fake quotes that circulate. In sports, one account that has a reputation of doing that is Ballsack Sports, creating quotes and attributing them to athletes. Sometimes, they are picked up by sports media outlet. In this case, it was ESPN.
On July 11, ESPN’s “This Just In” program aired a fake quote attributed to Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant saying that Michael Jordan would be “just another superstar” if he were to play in the current NBA. David Jacoby and Kendrick Perkins then talked about the made up quote on the air.
The program also inaccurately attributed the quote to Bleacher Report.
ESPN runs with fake Ja Morant quote
Bleacher Report ended up getting attributed by ESPN, as Morant had an interview with Taylor Rooks. During said interview, Morant said that he wished he would have played in Jordan’s era, and said he “would’ve cooked him.”
The part about Jordan being another star in the current NBA was never said in the interview. It was made up by Ballsack Sports. And ESPN ran with it and attributed it to Bleacher Report.
Rooks took to Twitter after the segment aired to clarify that Morant never made the comments in the interview, and called on ESPN to issue a correction.
Jacoby, who talked about the fake quote on the program, issued an apology “in general,” and to Rooks and Morant.
Hopefully this is a situation that can be avoided for the foreseeable future. When in doubt, double check the quote and find the source.