Mike Silver of Yahoo! Sports has a knack for getting people to say interesting things on the record. As a result, Mike Silver often is accused of misquoting people when the interesting things they say get other people talking.
As a result, Silver makes sure that people actually said the things he says they said.
Regarding the claim by Broncos quarterback Brady Quinn that his comments questioning the humility of Tim Tebow and the decision to give him the starting job after Kyle Orton was benched reflect a “completely inaccurate portrayal” of Quinn’s remarks, it’s important to note that Quinn never specifically said that he didn’t say what Silver says Quinn said.
That’s because Quinn said what he said.
“The interview was taped,” Silver told PFT on Tuesday night via email. “Brady has a copy of the audio file. I agree that his tone was not bitter and that the entirety of the (50-minute interview) presented a balanced perspective toward Tebow.”
That’s charitable of Silver, even though it could support an argument that Quinn’s comments were “taken out of context.” But that wouldn’t be accurate. As we’ve explained in the past, taking words out of context means isolating a quote in a way that, absent the full content, alters its meaning. Here, the words stand alone. And while Quinn said plenty of good things about Tebow, too, an actual or perceived insult tends to have a bigger impact.