No one accused you of being unqualified. They accused you of getting a story wrong, which Tom Brady, the subject of your story, says you did. Have you apologized yet? https://twitter.com/garymyersny/status/1260271309956755457

Surely you, as a writer, appreciate the irony that you are using your impressive resume to justify doubling down on a clearly flawed story. It's like defending Spam by telling us you've been a chef for 40 years.

Let me tell you a story.

Greg Hardy, radio personality on the Sports Hub, knew a real estate agent in Vegas, who told Greg that he heard Tom Brady was buying property there. Hardy told Mike Felger, who immediately went on air with this "breaking news".

Hardy said, "Wait, Mike! I didn't look into the story! I didn't verify it!" Felger told him to shut up and went ahead with the story.

In retrospect, this was a no-lose situation for Felger: He got juicy gossip that gave him an hour or two of material...

...and, by the time everyone realized that the story was crap, he had already moved on to a dozen or so other "breaking stories" about the Patriots.

He knew that neither Brady nor the Patriots typically responded to lies told about them. If they did, they'd do little else.

He wasn't going to get slapped down for this flimsily-sourced story. He wasn't going to get sued or suspended. His listeners would react strongly and it would make great radio. Why wouldn't he report it? Out of *journalistic principles*?? Hilarious!

You guys have been lulled into a false sense of security. You learned that you could say whatever you want, however outlandish, and Brady would never openly question you. Like a wayward student with a substitute teacher, you got bolder and bolder. That's over now.

I think you got lazy. I think you heard a rumor, you wanted mouse clicks and attention, and you figured that you'd never be refuted by someone in a position to say definitively that you were wrong. But it blew up in your face, and instead of owning up, you're doubling down.

You ought to do what @jtomase did when he got caught screwing up a story about the Patriots: He apologized publicly and vowed to do better.

See that? Even a man with 40-year career can learn something! /endrant
@ThatDaveBrown @Ironhead334