Was Operation Tejada Really Necessary?
“E:60” correspondent Tom Farrey scored a salacious scoop on Miguel Tejada. The dashing reporter tricked Tejada into interviewing under false pretenses, cleverly asked him to state his age, and then slapped him silly with his birth certificate signifying that he was two years older than MLB believed. In the words of Dan LeBatard, “bam!”
Tejada is 33 not 31. He lied in 1993, telling Oakland he was seventeen instead of nineteen because he thought it would increase his chances of the team offering him a contract.
The Government did not reveal with other Latin players in 2001, because his official documents carry his actual age rather than MLB age.
The newsworthiness is unquestionable. ESPN was surely right to run an article about this. But, was it really worth a Chris Hansen-style sting operation?
Surely, it is not as egregious as Ashton Kutcher pretending he is 30 rather than 34 (and that he has a full head of hair).
E:60 is supposed to represent the paragon of sports journalism on the network. While the story was valuable, the tactics employed were embellished overkill. Tejada neither raped nor killed. He did not screw investors out of millions. He did not steal. He was not running a drug ring nor was he patronizing a high-class escort service. He said he was two years younger to escape a poverty stricken island.
The story was neither salient nor significant. For the moral equivalent of a parking ticket, what is the purpose of orchestrating a sham interview, inducing him to lie and then confronting him about it? These methods provided neither insight nor value to the story. The only outcome was embarrassing a man who had done nothing to warrant it. The method itself became more of a story than the information gleamed.
ESPN has many incredible journalists who do fine work. E:60 is most often a respite from the riotous reign of commentary that plagues sports journalism. While I appreciate the chutzpah, save it for something worth it.
