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See the full story · 4 sources‘This Isn’t Journalism’ — Dan Patrick Takes Issue With ESPN Withholding Kyle Shanahan Car Accident News for 11 Days
The questions circling San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan’s car accident have gone beyond the crash itself. Much of the conversation is pivoting towards why news of the incident stayed out of the public eye for nearly two weeks, and whether members of the media chose to hold the story until the team was ready to announce it.
Dan Patrick Questions 11-Day Delay in Kyle Shanahan Accident Report
Broadcaster Dan Patrick became the latest voice to bring forth a similar question during “The Dan Patrick Show” on July 27. He mentioned the timing of the 49ers’ announcement and the status of national reporters who appeared to have information before it became public.
The 49ers shared on July 25 that Shanahan had been involved in a serious car accident on July 14, suffering broken ribs, a broken nose, a broken left hand, and a concussion. It later came out that Shanahan also required 40 stitches for facial injuries.
While the injuries are big, Patrick was also worried about little anyone outside Shanahan’s inner circle appeared to know until the team released its statement.
He shared the announcement timeline, noting that the 49ers released their statement at noon Eastern time on Saturday, July 25. ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter posted about the accident one minute later, at 12:01 p.m. ET, with ESPN publishing its story almost immediately afterward.
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This sequence raised obvious doubts in Patrick’s mind.
“So, did you release this to everybody? This information,” he said. “Why is ESPN holding the information?”
Patrick said he could understand why the 49ers wanted to keep the accident private, but that reporters operate under a different set of responsibilities.
“If the Niners can hold the information, I understand it,” he said. “But if you’re in the news gathering business, or at least you used to be, the NFL now owns 10% of ESPN, but did ESPN have the information and chose to sit on it for 11 days? Did ESPN say to the Niners, ‘We won’t release it until you tell us to release it?’”
He then referenced a point previously made by Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, who has often quoted Fox Sports insider Jay Glazer’s view that true sports journalism involves uncovering information teams do not want made public, and not “reporting something that’s going to be announced in five minutes. That’s what happened here. This isn’t journalism. Not really reporting. They’re giving you the information and the acknowledgement of, ‘Okay, now you can tell everybody.”
He also questioned why the accident, which would have public police records, was undisclosed for so long.
“I just want to know why it was held. Public knowledge, or police records? What are we hiding?” Patrick said.
While Patrick questioned the media’s handling of the story, Shanahan’s longtime friend Chris Simms shared a different perspective.
Alongside Mike Florio on “PFT Live” on Monday, the former NFL quarterback shared that he had learned about the accident almost immediately, but kept the information private because of his personal relationship with Shanahan.
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According to Simms , Shanahan’s wife, Mandy, texted both him and his wife shortly after the crash and included photos showing the extent of the injuries.
“When you first see it, and it’s fresh, and some of the cuts are still wide open, I mean, it’s jarring.”
Simms said he was just as surprised that no one else reported the accident over the following 11 days.
“I was sitting there every day after it happened going, ‘Is the news gonna break today? Is the news gonna break today? Is the news gonna break today,’ right?”
But Simms also said on Monday that the news did not break because of Shanahan’s reputation throughout the Bay Area. He described the 49ers coach as someone who has earned respect by building strong relationships within the community over many years.
“I think when you get down into it, this is where having goodwill, treating people the right way, being successful, yeah, being powerful as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, but being a guy that everybody in the community likes and knows, and that’s where Kyle is gifted and cool,” Simms said.
He also noted that Shanahan was reportedly returning from a chiropractic appointment and was close to the 49ers’ facility when the accident occurred. Because NFL teams often have established relationships with local police officers and first responders around stadiums, Simms said those connections may have helped explain why details of the crash remained private.
Shanahan has since returned to the 49ers during training camp, albeit in a limited capacity. He briefly attended Sunday’s practice for about 30 minutes and will stay on a restricted schedule until he gets medical clearance from his concussion.
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