Macdonald apologizes to Payton over unreleased interview comments
Seahawks coach says remarks about Broncos coach's accusations were meant off-record; journalist Bensinger published them anyway.
What to know
- Macdonald said his remarks about Payton's 2024 accusations of Seahawks filming during training camp were made off-record in a Graham Bensinger interview.
- The coach apologized to Payton after the comments were published, characterizing them as a lesson in accountability.
- Reddit commenters are divided: some see Bensinger as wrong for publishing off-record remarks; others question whether an on-camera interview can truly be off-record.
The dispute Whether remarks made on-camera during a formal interview can legitimately be considered off-record, and whether publishing them violates journalistic standards. · positions read across 15 posts and comments
Bensinger violated journalistic ethics by publishing off-record comments; he burned a source and damaged trust.
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“this is exactly the type of shit Florio makes up. A basically unverifiable behind-the-scenes controversy. Even if it were true there will likely be no further comment about it in the future. Macdonald was sitting across from an…”
suddenly-scrooge · Reddit ↗
Off-record tips are a legitimate journalistic tool; sources provide leads that reporters then verify independently.
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“Well there is some usefulness to having someone tell you something off of the record If you tell me X happened, but it's off of the record then my job as a journalist is to then prove X happened This gets much, much easier when I now know…”
POWBOOMBANG · Reddit ↗
Mike Macdonald Seahawks head coach
Sean Payton Broncos head coachGraham Bensinger Interviewer/journalist
How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump postscomments
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Macdonald apologizes to Payton after publication
Macdonald said he reached out to Payton with an apology and called the interaction "a lesson learned." He described Payton's response as "awesome" and acknowledged he bears responsibility for his statements regardless of context.
“It's a lesson learned. I gotta be better in that moment for understanding I'm responsible for what I say no matter the circumstance.”
— Mike Macdonald -
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Mike Macdonald: I apologized to Sean Payton, comments weren't intended for public use. https://www. nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballt alk/rumor-mill/news/mike-macdonald-i-apologized-to-sean-payton-comments-werent-intended-for-public-use
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Macdonald confirms interview comments were off-record
In a Wednesday press conference, Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said his remarks in a Graham Bensinger interview about Sean Payton and a 2024 training-camp video dispute were made before recording began and carried "a certain type of understanding" about their use.
“It was something I didn't intend to come out for public use. Thought it was the most appropriate thing to reach out to Sean and really just apologize to him for having that be public when it wasn't meant to.”
— Mike Macdonald -
Well there is some usefulness to having someone tell you something off of the record If you tell me X happened, but it's off of the record then my job as a journalist is to then prove X happened This gets much, much easier when I now know what questions to ask and who to ask them to This is the silly world of football so stakes aren't super high…
2 more of the top 3 · 13 posts in this stretch
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That whole portion didn't sit right with me at all. It felt to me like Bensinger was manufacturing a rift with Harbaugh that didn't exist and trying to get MacDonald to answer to it in real time. It was gross. I haven't seen a Bensinger interview before, but as many good tidbits came out of this he didn't leave me wanting to see more of him.
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this is exactly the type of shit Florio makes up. A basically unverifiable behind-the-scenes controversy. Even if it were true there will likely be no further comment about it in the future. Macdonald was sitting across from an interviewer, being interviewed under lights and on camera, of course it was on the record
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What people are saying 10 voices from 1 site · best of 15 · verbatim
- Sep 23
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it only takes one mistake for your press pass to be revoked, this was Bensinger's mistake.
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Nope. I’ve been clear the whole time. What helps is having the actual recording.
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Coach admitted to recording the opponent’s practices. Oh you're back on that again? I thought it was: Above commenter needs to just listen to the clip of Mike Mac outright saying he used 100+ recordings of other team’s practices. Very indecisive fella, you are
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Bensinger#Early_life Huh, always the Epstein types snaking and stabbing people in the back. Weird.
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This is the answer. And why should he care unless he's lying, but there's no reason to believe he is.
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Yeah I‘m wondering why nobody on the Seahawks has watched the interview beforehand
- Sep 22
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Wait hang on he’s cooking. Was it really that easy to steal signs just cruising twitter? Can we attribute any of the Seahawks success to this???
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Ehhh he just said what everyone already knows and has know. Payton is a piece of shit human, who had no respect for the game of football or anyone other than himself
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I am not here to rehash Stallion debates and who was aware of what. There is a fine line and he is no stranger to it.
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Theres a long list of fired coaches who acted like Sean Payton. They just made the fatal error of sucking at their jobs