Last October marked the 5th anniversary of one of the stranger situations to befall an NFL insider.
Seemingly out of nowhere, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport tweeted (it was still Twitter back then) that he had been suspended for two weeks for posting something that “went against [NFL Network’s] guidelines.”
After much speculation about what damaging thing Rapoport must have done to warrant a punishment so severe for someone whose career depends on their constant vigilance, Andrew Marchand revealed that the insider had posted a video ad for male-grooming brand Manscaped without approval.
The video, in which Rapoport promoted the Manscaped Lawn Mower, had actually been posted in mid-September and had long since been deleted.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 10, 2020
It’s one of those sports media stories that often elicits a good chuckle, but it turns out it was actually a fairly painful moment in Rapoport’s life and career.
“I can look back and sorta laugh now. It was definitely not funny then,” Rapoport told Marchand on the latest episode of his podcast. “It was like my world was collapsing. I went to therapy. I cried. It was terrible. Because if I don’t do this, what am I gonna do? And what are people gonna think?”
Rapoport added that he received calls from players and reporters who had been suspended at some point, and that the situation “definitely gave me a little street cred.”
While it might have been miserable at the time, the NFL insider says he feels like he came away from the suspension with very clear eyes and a valuable lesson.
“I learned a really good lesson,” he added. “The fact that it was that, of all things, added to the ridiculousness of it. My wife shot the [ad for Instagram] that I was in. The whole thing was ridiculous. But, I didn’t do what I needed to do… I thought it was approved because the podcast that I was doing at the time; it was a sponsor there. And so, I was told, ‘we’re good.’ But I didn’t do what I needed to do… It was my responsibility, and I took the blame, and I deserved the blame… It’s a good thing to know. When your name is on it, and when it’s about you, you are responsible.
“The whole thing was miserable. I got suspended two weeks, lost pay, the whole thing. But the lesson was pretty valuable.”
The life of the insider has been critiqued and questions oftened. Rapoport has never been one to complain, but the two-week ordeal did rock his sense of purpose.
“Job’s 24/7. If I’m not sitting around making calls or being on TV and breaking news, then what am I gonna do? My world is collapsing. I didn’t know what to do. I have a schedule. I’m very good with my schedule… all of a sudden, I had nothing to do. I couldn’t post. I couldn’t be on TV. I couldn’t make calls. I didn’t know what to do. It was really bad.”