Over the weekend, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins tragically passed away after being struck by a large vehicle. The news shocked the NFL world on Saturday, although the reporting surrounding his death came with quite a bit of controversy. ESPN's Adam Schefter tweeted that Haskins "failed to catch on" in the NFL and that he had bounced from the Washington Commanders to the Steelers.
Many found this addition to his report tasteless, especially since a young man had just passed away. It wasn't the right time to make comments about Haskins' success, and fans, as well as players, were quick to remind him of that.
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On Monday, Schefter went on his podcast and apologized for his callousness. He noted that what he said was insensitive and that moving forward, he will be much better with that type of reporting. He also paid respects to Haskins, noting he was a great man and husband.
"It was insensitive," Schefter said. "It was a mistake, and I can assure you it was not my intention. I wish I could have that tweet back. The focus should have been on Dwayne -- who he was as a person, a husband, a friend, and so much more. I wanted to apologize to Dwayne's family, his friends, the players in the NFL, and offer my condolences to everybody close to Dwayne. And in the way I failed Saturday, I wanted to turn the people's attention to make sure that Dwayne is remembered properly."
It is going to take Schefter a long time to regain the trust and respect of some players around the league, however, it is good that he was able to recognize his wrongs. Hopefully, he is able to act differently in the future.
