Media Monster

Report: ESPNews Anchor Suspended For Plagiarizing Newspaper Column

Newspaper columnist Kevin Ding’s plagiarism accusation against ESPNews anchor Will Selva came to a head quickly – Fanhouse reported that Selva was suspended from the network “for an undisclosed period of time.” ESPN spokesperson Josh Krulewitz said ESPN took the matter “extremely seriously” and that the network took “appropriate action,” though he himself declined to say whether that entailed a suspension.

A quick reminder as to what happened: Ding called out Selva for borrowing from the lead to this column:

Christmas isn’t over yet, Lakers fans.

The big game, it turns out, will be the game after the supposed Game of the Year.

In San Antonio on Tuesday night, the Lakers will be out to give themselves and their fans the much-needed gift of hope.

Here’s the ESPNews segment in question:

Selva apologized for the incident shortly afterward:

“I made a horrible mistake and I’m deeply sorry. I did not live up to my high standards or ESPN’s. As I often do, I research local stories to use as background for writing my script. In this case, I cut and pasted the story with every intention of writing my own. I simply forgot and I completely understand why this is a major problem. I sincerely apologize for my sloppiness, especially to Kevin Ding, viewers and colleagues. In my 15 years in broadcast journalism, nothing like this has ever happened and I will make every effort to ensure it won’t happen again.”

Krulewitz’s statement also made note of the fact that Selva was “not…intentionally trying to claim someone else’s work as his own,” so one would think that whatever Selva’s exact punishment is, it would have been more severe had ESPN determined he was guilty of more than the “sloppiness” he admitted. Either way, it’ll be interesting to see just how long Selva remains off the air.