On Friday morning, I noticed an item on the Cardinals’ website. Highlight specific topics From an interview with Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill on Arizona Sports 98.7. I skimmed through this article, not expecting to find anything about the various controversies involving the Cardinal and Bidwill over the past year on a website owned and operated by the Cardinal, and by extension, Bidwill.
After all, this article wouldn’t have said anything about the various controversies involving the Cardinals and Bidwill over the past year. That’s because the 12-minute interview with host Dan Bickley and Vince didn’t mention any of the controversy. Marotta.
Click here for the full interview From the station’s annual Bidwill visit, ironically named “Newsmaker” Week.
The team released a lot of not-so-good news last year.from terrible display In a survey to the NFL Players Association, terry mcdonough complaint to the team Shameful PR response to his complaint Claims on record From former Cardinals executive Ron Minegar Confirmation that burner phone was used To contact former GM Steve Keim during suspension after DUI arrest Tampered payment There has been no shortage of hot topics surrounding the Eagles’ hiring of coach Jonathan Gannon, which Bidwill has yet to be asked about publicly.
The closest the interview came to touching on any of those topics was when Bickley tiptoed among the tulips he was tinkering with, asking the most innocuous questions possible. It turned out to be worth the trouble for the Philadelphia owners. Your assessment of Jonathan Gannon after a year on the job, especially in light of everything that led him to the NFL. ”
Folks, the Cardinals blatantly messed with Gannon in violation of league rules. The settlement was announced and the dispute was first revealed five minutes before the start of the 2023 draft. What the Cardinals did, why they did it, how widespread the contact was, whether it distracted from Gannon’s Super Bowl preparations as the Eagles’ defensive coordinator, and to what extent. Many unanswered questions remain about whether and ultimately what the situation was. Damaged the integrity of the 2022 NFL Championship Game. The “anxiety” was not mutual. The Cardinals intentionally and brazenly broke the rules, so it’s no wonder the Eagles told them to. (And of course, anyone trying to get answers to these questions, fired as a conspiracy theorist. )
It’s no wonder that the interview avoided many controversial topics. Arizona Sports 98.7 is the Cardinals’ flagship radio station. Arizona Sports 98.7 might not have been a flagship radio station for long if the hosts had pitched anything other than the softest softballs to Bidwill.
It’s also possible that the Cardinals told Arizona Sports 98.7 that Bidwill would agree to appear on their annual “Newsmakers” week only if the hosts agreed in advance not to play high heat. Or over low heat. Or any fever.
Kyle Odegard, who cashed in his signing paycheck with Bidwill for several years to cover the team, pointed out that Arizona Sports 98.7 did not ask Bidwill a single remotely challenging question, and said he also He admitted that he had been similarly violated in the past.
“I worked for the Cardinals for almost eight years from 2013 to 2021, and during that time, Content has to be avoided, minimized, or removed That would have been damaging and controversial to the organization,” Odegard wrote in a radio interview with Bidwill. “I chose a steady job and my desired occupation, a beat writer for a professional sports team, over telling the whole truth. So I was in exactly the same position as Bickley and Marotta. . . . It’s easier to choose that path because it’s more conventional and certainly less hectic, but it doesn’t serve the legion of Cardinals fans who pay a lot of money to support their favorite team… The group is called upon to answer when serious allegations arise, but despite Bidwill’s public address on Friday, they were unable to hear his side of the story. Ta.”
Odegaard’s dilemma is not unique. For more than 20 years, the NFL and its teams have directly employed reporters for reporting. The conflict of interest is clear. They are state media. A media outlet once owned and operated by the Soviet Union, the modern-day equivalent of TASS. (And they still get mad in all caps when I point out this indisputable fact.)
The problem is that the proliferation of state media outlets in the sports field has created an expectation that other media workers (particularly reporters working for “broadcasting partners”) will do the same. If not, the league and/or team may simplyExclusive!” in an interview with the company’s own media. And/or they will regularly complain to their broadcast partners about reporters who dare to exercise independence in their reporting/commentary or ask questions that make the person answering the questions slightly uncomfortable.
Some fans aren’t interested in knowing the truth, and that’s their prerogative. For those who are aware of the following: (1) Chronic dysfunction stems from ownership. (2) Ownership cannot be dismissed. It would be excruciating to watch the only person on the Cardinals team have to be asked tough questions on behalf of paying customers who have been treated with kid gloves for their recent appearances in games. It will be even rarer than Punxsutawney Phil’s annual excursion.