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ESPN’s Adam Schefter drew plenty of criticism for reporting in the immediate aftermath of the Robert Kraft situation that Kraft isn’t the “biggest name” to be ensnared. Schefter had kept a very low profile after the fuse hit the powder keg, declining comment to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post for his item that took a close look at the report.

Schefter finally addressed the situation during a recent appearance on the Pardon My Take podcast. Initially, Schefter took a lighthearted approach, trying to argue that a bigger name came from the financial sector.

“Wasn’t John Havens who was second in command at Citigroup a big name?” Schefter said. “Like I had people from CNBC — I could show the the texts — texting me, literally I can read to you right now: ‘John Havens was caught in the sting. He rans Sales and Trading for Morgan Stanley and was the No. 2 at Citigroup. How can people destroy their lives?'”

The hosts, Dan Katz and the twin brother of the late Eric Sollenberger, scoffed at the attempt to suggest that Havens was the bigger name, and they kept pressing Schefter.

“Again, I don’t have the name,” Schefter said. “I don’t have the name. Because I was not given the name. And, again, maybe I should have framed it a little differently because the story took on a life of its own. And I just should have said, ‘There are people down there telling me. . . .’ Now, there are people who tell you things that sometimes come to be and sometimes don’t.”

OK, but the job of a reporter is to aspire to report information accurately. And we’re only as good as the sources whom we trust. Schefter trusted a source who gave him bad information, and now he’s trying to shrug it off with “sh-t happens” nonchalance.

It would be better to just own the mistake, accept the rare L, apologize for sparking widespread speculation regarding who the bigger name might be, and move on.