Fox Sports' Jay Glazer laments teasing coronavirus scoop for 24 hours after getting roasted online

For a full day, Fox Sports NFL reporter Jay Glazer teased he had some news to break on his Fox Football Now show on Wednesday. And not just any news, but big, national news.

A co-worker tweeted about the incoming news and, soon, a wave of speculation hit the coronavirus-weary internet. What could it be? A signing? A trade? A change in the NFL landscape? Glazer tweeted multiple times Wednesday to say what the news wasn’t, but you had to tune into his show — 11 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. PT — to find out what it was.

Lo and behold, the show arrived, and Glazer revealed his much-hyped news: Los Angeles Rams center Brian Allen had tested positive for coronavirus ... three weeks ago.

Jay Glazer’s big — and maligned — coronavirus scoop

While its was certainly a noteworthy development given that Allen was the first known NFL player to test positive for the coronavirus (he was soon joined by the Denver Broncos’ Von Miller), many were still rubbed the wrong way by how Glazer treated the news.

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Glazer’s tweet of the news was quickly inundated with thousands of replies. “You’re cancelled,” “Unfollowed,” “What is wrong with you” and “Can’t believe I stayed up till 11 for this” pretty much sum up the mood of the response.

There were likely several reasons behind the blowback: Glazer’s news was notable, but involved a little-known player and didn’t represent any big change for the NFL; people are likely somewhat weary of hearing about coronavirus and were hoping for something new; and Glazer seemed to have used news about a pandemic to pump up the ratings of his own show.

It was, at best, an awkward way to break a bit of news, and, at worst, exploitative.

The next day, Glazer explained his side of the story during an appearance on an episode of the podcast “Green Light with Chris Long.”

Why Jay Glazer handled the Brian Allen story the way he did

As Glazer tells it, he only teased the story to his co-workers, who then ramped up the hype past what Glazer thought was appropriate. By the next morning, NFL players, coaches, executives and owners were texting him to find out what the news was.

Glazer defended the story as national news, which wasn’t wrong. The first known NFL player to get coroanvirus is definitely noteworthy for the league.

From Awful Announcing:

That tracks with how many first heard of the oncoming news, a tweet from a Fox Sports Radio host.

In fairness, Glazer did indeed go out of his way to make sure people knew the news wasn’t transactional.

He also definitely seemed to have fun with others biting on fake accounts breaking what could have been his big reveal.

However, the question remains of why Glazer didn’t just reveal the news if it was getting overhyped, rather than let everyone’s imagination run amok.

Glazer’s response was simple: his job is to break news on Fox shows, so he wasn’t going to break until his Fox show aired:

So basically, Glazer and his Fox Sports co-workers overhyped his news and his Fox Sports duties meant he couldn’t reveal the over-hyped news until his own show. During the NFL season, Glazer often waits until his Fox NFL Sunday spots to break news, so waiting isn’t a new behavior, just the pre-hype.

For some, that likely won’t be a satisfying explanation of how we got here, but it at least makes the situation a little more understandable.

Now, Glazer is left with a sizable group of angry fans. He tried to deflect the anger by calling for donations to his Merging Vets & Players foundation to benefit first responders.

The top reply to that tweet: “Surprised you didn't say ‘breaking news’ and then post this 24 hours later.”

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