Bountygate CliffsNotes (Long)

The whole thing should have fallen apart when Mary Jo White got caught lying about what Hargrove said. The main problem, aside from the league needing to make an example out of the Saints, was that you had a lazy media, lead by shills like Peter King, who bought the story from the beginning hook, line and sinker and never questioned anything the league said. I remember another instance when King asked White how she knew Hargrove was the one who was heard saying "pay me my money" on a hot mike in the NFCCG, and her reply was "because his mouth was moving." And good boy Peter accepted the answer. It was later proved that Hargrove did not say it, but no one made a big deal out of it, and poor Hargrove lost his career. We needed more people like Mike Florio, who was willing to look at the league's claims with skepticism and point out when things didn't make sense. Unfortunately, there weren't enough Florios to overcome the Kings.

You are exactly right. The media had a hot topic to get people to click on...and that is all that mattered. And honestly you can't expect the average reader to follow the trial, go down the rabbit hole and get the facts themselves. But you would expect the media to do that. But unfortunately that is the age we live in...sloppy and lazy reporting.