Zach Wilson is back as the starting quarterback of the Jets. In his first press conference since getting the job back, he was asked about Monday’s report that he was supposedly reluctant to play again this season.
Via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com, Wilson called the report from TheAthletic.com “absolutely not” true.
“I’ve never once said that to anybody in this locker room, that I wouldn’t want to play,” Wilson added.
Wilson will start on Sunday against the Texans. He’ll apparently start for the rest of the season, unless and until Aaron Rodgers returns.
Wilson’s strong denial of the report underscores the fact that TheAthletic.com should have sought a response from Wilson before publishing the claim that he is reluctant to play. That’s part of the basic obligation to get both sides of a story, particularly when a report will, on its face, make the subject of it look very, very bad.
There was no reason not to contact the Jets or Wilson to see what he had to say about it, and to factor his response into the original reporting. It undermines the value of the reporting to not give the person who is made to look bad by the report a chance to chime in. And it feeds into the perception that there was some sort of agenda at play, other than getting to the truth.
