Security called as Ian Rapoport is accosted by rival reporter at NFL Combine after Tom Brady dispute
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport was accosted by rival reporter Jordan Schultz as the Combine descended into farce on Wednesday.
Security were called after Rapoport reportedly had an X-rated ‘verbal confrontation’ with the Fox Sports NFL Insider in a Starbucks in Indianapolis.
According to NBC, Schultz confronted Rapoport while the NFL Network reporter was speaking to an agent.
The two big-name journalists, who routinely battle to break stories, then shared a brief back and forth with Schultz alleged to have said words to the effect of: ‘If you have anything to say it to me, say it to my f***ing face.’
The Fox Sports Insider later confirmed to NBC that they had a ‘verbal confrontation’ and that Rapaport ‘called security’. Rapoport reportedly told a witness that the clash was considered a threat of physical violence.
A few hours before the news broke on Wednesday, Schultz and Rapoport had posted conflicting reports about Tom Brady and Matthew Stafford.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport was accosted by rival reporter Jordan Schultz as the Combine
Security were called after the X-rated ‘verbal confrontation’ with the Fox Sports NFL Insider
Shortly after 2pm, Schulz claimed Brady ‘recently hosted’ the Rams quarterback ‘at his home in Montana, where they spent time together and went skiing’.
Before long, however, Rapoport tweeted that Brady and Stafford simply ‘ran into each other at a ski resort’ and that ‘the meeting, unplanned, was not extensive or in-depth and did not include Brady “hosting” or “recruiting” Stafford, despite reports saying otherwise.’
He did not mention Schultz by name but the Fox Sports Insider hit back on social media with a thinly-veiled dig.
‘If you really think Tom Brady and Matthew Stafford just happened to run into each other at a ski resort in Montana — of all places — at the exact same time, I’ve got a bridge to sell you,’ Schultz wrote.
After Brady’s agent Don Yee told NFL Network that the original story was ‘inaccurate’, Rapoport posted: ‘Tom Brady and Matthew Stafford, like many other high-profile people, both own houses in the same ski community.’
