It’s safe to say that ESPN is not one of Jeff Fisher’s favorite media outlets.
On Wednesday, one day after ESPN aired a controversial report that mentioned the showering habits of defensive end Michael Sam, who is gay, the Rams coach told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he was “extremely disappointed” with both the network and reporter Josina Anderson.
In her report, Anderson stated that according to an anonymous Rams player, Sam was “respecting our space” in the shower, and may have been waiting to take a shower, so as not to make his heterosexual teammates uncomfortable. A few other teammates told Anderson they weren’t keeping track of Sam’s showering habits.
“I think it’s unethical,” Fisher told the newspaper. “I think it’s very, very unprofessional. Not only the piece itself, the content. The manner in which she did it.”
Fisher also took offense at Anderson contacting Rams players while they were away from the team’s training facility.
“We have a media policy, and we’re very flexible,” Fisher said. “We have open practices. Players are available. We have open locker rooms.
“Obviously she came in, in all likelihood to see if there was gonna be a roster move at the 75 cutdown as it relates to Mike Sam. That didn’t happen. But she needed to do something, and it’s my understanding that she manufactured this story. She was out of line because she went and contacted several players on their personal time. Misled them with questions and then put this piece together.”
Defensive end Chris Long also took a shot at ESPN on Twitter.
Despite his anger, Fisher accepted a personal apology from ESPN executive VP John Wildhack, who called on Wednesday.
“We appreciate John Wildhack reaching out to us and apologizing, and their willingness to communicate and work through this with us,” Fisher said.