That is a load of crap. You don’t publish an insinuation and call it “the process of good journalism” while you’re struggling to prove it. At least Ben Volin, the Boston Globe writer whose tweets helped start this mess, has published an apology.

And Ben Volin has just tweeted a lengthy apology.

You’re missing it! Player downplayed a story about how his leg gets hurt. Sports writers report it with predictable flair (heroism, etc). Snarky “sleuths” make a few phone calls to disprove it, write it up as the next Manti Te’o. Thousands of sh*tty comments/tweets later, yet within the same afternoon, it turns out to…

Step 1, get the name right when making the (idiotic) joke.

Yes. This.

Do you not understand responsibility in reporting? It’s not about not delving into a story—it’s about not publishing nonsense as you attempt to verify.

Tim!!! It’s not a novel approach. It’s called journalism, or at least it used to be. The idea is a simple one—you start with objectivity, and then you gather the facts before smearing a man’s name. This story went from true, to a hoax, back to true in one afternoon—so you can’t tell me Diana thinks she was covered by…