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An unlikely connection between a paralyzed 25-year-old woman from Ohio and MSU quarterback Connor Cook is an uplifting tale worth telling twice -- though not how Drew Sharp retold it.
Version one is at isportsweb.com, a national blog where senior writer and editor David Harns of Dansville, Mich., describes it as "an inspirational story of courage and determination" in the lead of his Nov. 20 post. Harns spoke with former cheerleader and varsity basketball player Miranda McCoy and posts nine photos of her before a 2007 car crash "that would change her life forever," as he puts it.
Drew Sharp's Dec. 4 column "has been updated to appropriately attribute some key details," an editor's note says.
Version two is by Detroit Free Press columnist Drew Sharp, who spoke with Cook about the player's Twitter exchanges with McCoy and their Nov. 21 meeting at Ohio Stadium after MSU beat UM by 17-14. The quadriplegic woman, who grew up two hours from Columbus, switched from being a Buckeyes fan to rooting for Michigan State because she "was mesmerized" by Cook -- as she told Harns.
Both versions are heartwarming, but the second had a significant problem, Sharp's editors later realized. He ran with reporting intercepted from Harns and kept mum about it -- an out-of-bounds move.
"Drew Sharp Commits Journalism’s Biggest Sin" says the headline on a rebuke this week at a local blog, Detroit Sports Rag. "A journalist for The Detroit Free Press has committed the greatest transgression in his field," writes managing editor Justin Spiro, a 2011 MSU journalism graduate who graduated this year from law school.
He accuses Sharp of "plagiarizing the work of another writer," a charge that typically means lifting identical sentences, phrases or quotes. As Spiro writes Thursday afternoon, the situation involves "similarities between Sharp’s article and the Harns piece."
All of the details of McCoy’s story and experience were lifted entirely from the Harns piece, lacking any attribution.
[Update: In a reaction to this post Friday night, Spiro tweets: "I've spoken to nearly a dozen journalism professors/working journalists. There is unanimity. @drewsharp plagiarized, @freep swept under rug." He adds: "Writing a follow-up . . . soon. Will include several on-record words of condemnation from experts."]
Whether Sharp crossed the plagiarism line or not, legalistic precision doesn't minimize his misstep -- as his paper acknowledges publicly. Online changes to the sports column were made 11 days after publication, starting before its first paragraph:
Editor's note: This story has been updated to appropriately attribute some key details to stories that originally appeared on isportsweb.com by David Harns.
Justin Spiro: "How can they be trusted at all?" (Facebook photo)
A correction was published in print editions, Spiro writes. Sharp's amended online column now links to Harns' original post and a Nov. 25 follow-up on the post-game meeting between MSU's star and his admirer.
But wait, there's more from Spiro:
Harns, who has been paid by the Freep in the past for freelance work, was offered his usual rate for his unintended contributions to Sharp’s story according to our source at the paper. This was seen as a form of restitution from the newspaper’s editorial staff.
According to McCoy though, Harns turned down their offer, instead requesting that the Freep make a donation to Shriners Children’s Hospital in Chicago, a charity of great importance to Miranda McCoy. The Freep agreed to double the donation and make the requested contribution. . . .
What they did not do was either suspend or terminate Sharp, who has had several columns published since his plagiarism of Harns came to light. . . .
One is left to wonder why the Detroit Free Press quietly and retroactively inserted proper attribution into Sharp’s Dec. 4 column. While such a correction was imperative, it is grossly insufficient in addressing the ethical issues presented. The Freep knows that Sharp stole the work of another writer and presented it as his own. Meanwhile, they continue to publish Sharp columns and to date have not told their readers what occurred.
The 28-year-old Detroit Sports Rag blogger from Rochester spoke by phone with Miranda McCoy, the 25-year-old in Strasburg, Ohio, and shares these comments by her:
I have not talked to Drew Sharp or anyone else with the Free Press before or after their story was published.
I was browsing Twitter and noticed Joe Rexrode praising Drew Sharp for his article about me. At first I thought it was cool that someone had picked up on Dave’s story, then I read it. I paused and was like ‘wait, what?’ I didn’t tell any of this stuff to him. . . .
Dave’s original article is the reason I was able to meet Connor Cook. . . . I was upset that someone would do that to Dave. . . . But Dave has said he is completely content with their handling of it, and if he is OK with it, I am OK with it.
Spiro isn't OK with it. "I think anyone with even a basic understanding of journalistic ethics finds this sort of thing appalling," he tells Deadline. "It is no minor transgression."
When he contacted original blogger David Harns, the writer told Spiro:
Everybody makes mistakes, myself included. I’m satisfied with how the Free Press handled this situation and I consider the matter closed.
According to Spiro, "Harns would not comment on details regarding his resolution with the Freep and whether or not it included an apology from Sharp."
Spiro tweets about this situation seven times Saturday morning and 11 times Christmas night, including retweets from others.
After his Christmas Eve article went up on Detroit Sports Rag, he posted a 30-minute barrage of nine tweets. A sampling:
Drew Sharp's plagiarism is appalling, but the @freep's conscious decision to sweep it under the rug is the most troubling aspect of this.
— Justin Spiro (@DarkoStateNews) December 24, 2015
If the @freep cannot be trusted to even address blatant plagiarism that they are made fully aware of, how can they be trusted at all?
— Justin Spiro (@DarkoStateNews) December 24, 2015
The @freep 's slogan is "On Guard for 184 Years". A curious motto for a publication that covers up plagiarism at their own paper.
— Justin Spiro (@DarkoStateNews) December 24, 2015
People call me a jerk for accusing the Detroit media of being lazy and not chasing stories. Well, the @freep stole a story from a blogger.
— Justin Spiro (@DarkoStateNews) December 24, 2015
Easy now, guy -- take deep breaths and let your work speak for itself.
You earn a ht tip for fine reporting, but an editor's note citing the need "to appropriately attribute some key details" hardly shows a "conscious decision to sweep it under the rug." And your source may not know how else Free Press executive editor Robert Huschka dealt with or will deal with this internally. (He declines to comment for this article.)
In any event, it's certainly troubling and callout-worthy.
