Zolak: Shut Up, Chris Mortensen, Because You Screwed The Whole Thing Up
BOSTON (CBS) -- On Tuesday, one of the most prominently featured ESPN talkers from the NFL spring owners meetings was none other than Chris Mortensen.
Considering it was Mortensen's January report -- the one that said 11 of 12 Patriots footballs were a full 2.0 PSI under the allowable limit, the one that was proven to be false in the Wells report -- which turned DeflateGate into a major national story, Scott Zolak was not entirely excited to hear Mortensen's report coming out of a commercial break.
"Shut up," Zolak exclaimed. "It's your fault. That's what it is. This is Mortensen's fault that we're even in this position. Shut up. You screwed the first report up. You were grotesquely wrong on a PSI count of more than 2.0 per ball.
"Mr. 1.8 Million Followers, you screwed the whole thing up, Mortensen. Shut up, go away. Sorry. It's his fault!
"This thing got to the media, whoever leaked it to him. I don't care [who leaked it to him]. But Mortensen screwed the report up. You got bad info, and you ran with it."
Marc Bertrand noted that the source of that information is the real person who deserves most of the blame -- but that doesn't absolve Mortensen.
"He probably got the bad info from someone very high in the league office," Bertrand said. "You know what bothers me, though? Part of the job as a reporter is to know if you're being sold a bunch of lies or you're being sold a load of bullcrap. And you have to be the one to decide, 'Is this good? Is this from someone who's always right? Is this from someone who's right 75 percent of the time? Is this from someone who's right 50 percent of the time?' Because ultimately, you're putting your name to it, not the anonymous source.
"So I think that yes, [Mortensen] does bear some blame. Chris Mortensen, I am annoyed watching him on TV talking about this case. The minimum punishment should be, 'You know what, Mort? You don't get to talk about this anymore. You don't get to talk about DeflateGate. Because you've been very wrong about this, and you're out.'"
Zolak said that no matter what, Mortensen has lost all credibility with him.
"It'll never matter what he reports on or breaks again, because I will look at him in a certain light from this point forward. La la la," Zolak said. "I don't care what he ever says or reports on. And that's kind of the way I think fans look at the Patriots from afar. Whatever you look at and view this team or organization as, what's going to change that? Nothing will change that way I feel about Chris Mortensen.
"It's a tough spot guys are in when you report things, but damn it, you better get it right. Because if you don't, it really hits your credibility.
"Why do we like [Adam] Schefter, and why do you respect Schefter? The guy freaking nails it. He nails it."
Listen to Zolak's rant below:
