ESPN says the Philadelphia Eagles pulled Michael Vick out of a scheduled interview this morning. The Eagles say that’s “ridiculous.”
In a statement e-mailed to PFT, Eagles spokesman Derek Boyko pinned the mix-up on Lou Tilley, who works in media for the Maxwell Club, where Vick is picking up an award today.
“Lou Tilley booked Michael for an interview with ESPN and never asked Michael or myself or any Vick representative,” Boyko said. “I was here with Michael. He never canceled. He was never asked. It was ridiculous.”
But ESPN First Take made it clear, both on the air this morning and on the show’s Facebook page, that their understanding is that Vick committed to the interview and it was the Eagles who called it off.
“To our fans, we truly apologize,” the First Take Facebook message says. “The Philadelphia Eagles have pulled Michael Vick from our interview. First Take and Oprah now have something in common.”
Vick was at a Maxwell Club press conference this morning, where it was announced that he is the recipient of the 52nd Annual Bert Bell Award. Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the Eagles also said at that event that they never pulled Vick from any ESPN interview.
We’ve asked ESPN for a response. We’ll let you know what we find out.