One thing I’ve learned (the hard way) in 12 years of doing this is that when it comes to matters of illness and death, it doesn’t matter who gets a story first.
We were reminded of that over the weekend when presumably reliable reports emerged from another network which shall remain nameless (but that has four letters in its name) that Broncos coach John Fox had suffered chest pains and had experienced a suspected heart attack. Both reports were wrong.
Now, the network owned by the league is angling for the scoop on the health of another coach with a potentially serious healthy condition, reporting that Texans coach Gary Kubiak had a “mini-stroke.” Meanwhile, the aforementioned unmentioned four-letter network, after dropping strong hints throughout the day on Monday that Kubiak had been treated for the symptoms of a stroke, reported during halftime of last night’s game that he didn’t have a stroke.
In response to the NFLN report, I contacted the Texans for comment, and the Texans declined comment.
So while we acknowledge that there are conflicting reports on Kubiak’s condition, our official position is that it’s up to the Texans and/or Kubiak to announce any medical information. We only mention the conflicting reports because: (1) they’re out there and hard to miss; and (2) they demonstrate the hazards of trying to be first on issues far more serious than who’s signing a contract or who’s injured.