There have been a lot of people who have complained about anonymous sources in sports over the years. One of the most recent is ESPN host and commentator Pat McAfee, who did so in a guest appearance on NFL Network’s NFL GameDay Morning Sunday. There, McAfee said his Christmas wish would be for Santa to deliver an end to anonymous sources in the NFL, prompting quite a response from Ian Rapoport:

I do have a Special Christmas List @richeisen..

You known that I’m a journalist and we do journalism every single day..

I would like to be DONE with anonymous sources in the NFL @NFLGameDay pic.twitter.com/xByt0TJ96z

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) December 22, 2024

McAfee says “If this holly, jolly fat man was to go over to New York to the NFL offices and drop a couple of things in their ear, I think they could really change some things for the better. For instance, I’m a journalist, you know that, Rich, I do journalism every single day on my show. We’re covering stories, telling different angles, you know, talking about things. #journalisticstandards through and through.

“And I understand that in the politics world, in the real world, you need to have anonymous sources. I understand that, for people’s protection and safety. Okay, I get it. But in sports, no more anonymous sources. I want to know who said what. Because whenever something breaks, I want to know, was that an agent trying to cook up some stuff? Was that a GM who was maybe a little bit upset? Or was that maybe somebody trying to earn the favor of Rapsheet, so that when they mess up later Rapsheet won’t say anything bad about them? I would just like to be done with anonymous sources in the NFL. Put your name on it, put your name on it, Rap. They need to start doing that.”

Rapoport replies by pointing to his phone and saying “I would say, with all due respect to my good friend Pat McAfee, no. No. I’ve got my secrets in here, and that’s where they’re going to say.”

McAfee does have some level of point that there are potential problems with anonymous sources, especially when it comes to those sources’ biases and to the possible impact of their information. He also has a point that sports reporting is ultimately much less serious than many other areas of reporting. And he’s far from the first to complain about anonymous sources: there’s a long tradition of that, and while it’s usually more players and coaches doing it than media figures, some media members have bashed certain anonymous reports in the past.

And anonymous sources around the NFL draft in particular have often been particularly problematic, with the potential for those sources to be putting out comments to try and alter other teams’ perceptions of players. But insiders like Rapoport and ESPN’s Adam Schefter are aware of that, and have spoken about how they try to handle that (and about how much interest NFL figures have in various media reports). And beyond that, a lot of NFL news just wouldn’t happen without anonymous sources.

It seems much more feasible to lobby for careful use of anonymous sources rather than an end to the practice altogether. But, hey, no one said wishes to Santa have to be a hundred percent practical. So McAfee can certainly put this out there if he wants, and he did create some interesting conversation by doing so.

[Pat McAfee on X]