CBS Affiliate Fires Employee Over Tom Brady ‘Known Cheater’ Graphic

CBS Affiliate Fires Employee Over Tom Brady ‘Known Cheater’ Graphic
Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots speaks to the media on Jan. 29, 2019. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Zachary Stieber
1/30/2019
Updated:
1/30/2019

A CBS affiliate said that it fired an employee who was responsible for a graphic shown on air that labeled the New England Patriots quarterback a “Known Cheater.”

The graphic was shown on KDKA, a Pittsburgh affiliate, during the 4 p.m. newscast on Jan. 28.

“While fans are entitled to have personal opinions, we have a journalistic responsibility to provide unbiased reporting,” KDKA said in a statement obtained by SI.com.

“The graphic that appeared Monday violated our news standards. The individual who created the graphic no longer works for KDKA-TV.”

The incident came just days before the Feb. 3 Super Bowl matchup between the Patriots and Los Angeles Rams.

Super Bowl LIII will take place in Atlanta, Georgia, and kick off at 6:30 p.m. ET. It will air on CBS.

ESPN Shows Fake Instagram Post

Just a day after the graphic went viral, ESPN showed a fake Instagram post before later admitting that it was duped.

Following the Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers game on Tuesday night, ESPN anchor Neil Everett showed an Instagram post by New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis.

The post by Davis, who recently requested a trade—setting off intense speculation about where he'd be traded to—was real, but a comment allegedly from Lakers star James was fake.

Twitter user Sreekyshooter, a photographer, made a fake screenshot that showed James commenting: “SHEESH that sweater is [fire emojis]!!! You’re killing it bro anyway cya laker oops that was a typo I meant cya later.”

Everett, who believed the comment was real, said during the broadcast, “Look what we found on Insta-face: LeBron James giving thumbs up to Anthony Davis’s wardrobe, and at the same time James basically giving the middle finger to the NBA. Sheesh!”

Everett later admitted that the comment was fake, saying that it was the work of “some kid with way too much time on his hands.”

Responding, the photographer who created the fake screenshot said: “I'd rather have too much time on my hands so I can take 3 minutes to make a joke on twitter than have such little time on my hands that I don’t bother to verify the veracity of a ridiculous Instagram screenshot because I’m desperate for content”

Zachary Stieber is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times based in Maryland. He covers U.S. and world news. Contact Zachary at [email protected]
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