Whether it’s something in the air or water, the beef seems to be sizzling around the NFL right now. But it’s not on the field (obviously it’s the offseason) or even involving players attending the NFL Combine in Indianapolis. Rather, it's ... the media? Reports began to circulate on Wednesday night about a verbal confrontation that sounds like it came close to getting physical between Fox Sports NFL insider Jordan Schultz and NFL Media insider Ian Rapoport.
Early accounts of the incident paint Schultz as the aggressor, approaching Rapoport at the Starbucks inside the JW Marriott hotel in Indy before cooler heads eventually intervened.
“It really isn’t anything too much," Schultz told Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. "Ian Rapoport and I had a verbal confrontation. It lasted a little over a minute. Multiple agents and reporters were nearby. Rapoport was the one who called security shortly after, but it never escalated further.”
Naturally, in the social media age we live in, folks just couldn’t wait to start posting meme’s making light of the situation. But one that you may not have expected came from an insider himself: ESPN’s Adam Schefter apparently could not pass up the opportunity to troll his counterparts in the name of good fun.
Adam Schefter weighs in on media beef at the NFL Combine
The term “head on a swivel” has taken on a new meaning on the heels of this alleged altercation. From all indications, it doesn’t sound like Rapoport wanted any smoke with Schultz and attempted to defuse tensions. Just in case you’re wondering what all the commotion stemmed from, Schultz apparently took umbrage with Rapoport downplaying his reporting on Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford's meeting with Las Vegas Raiders minority owner Tom Brady. Schultz insisted it was intentional, while Rapoport called it merely an “unplanned meeting” in which the two ran into each other at a ski resort.
Schefter’s tweet, however, has managed to add some levity to what feels like a wild incident. You would never expect NFL insiders to meet up at a Starbucks to settle their differences; that certainly was not on the original agenda for Wednesday afternoon at the combine. It’s also ironic that this altercation took place at Starbucks, because Schultz’s father, Howard Schultz, is the former CEO of the coffee franchise. Who knows, maybe Jordan chose that spot for backup?