Back to the title of the post.
In an attempt to "scoop" the swimming media, Braden Keith took a job posting and created a headline that makes him front-runner for Jackass of the Year honors.
He has since changed "Assistant Coach Jim Henry Out at Texas" to "Jim Henry in Open Competition for Texas Assistant Job".
Keith owes Jim an apology, but don't hold your breath waiting on that...
tried to post this comment on keith's article, but we know it won't get through:
ReplyDeleteyou owe jim an apology. be a man and do it publicly.
'You’re right, didn’t think the headline through well enough. Let me fix the headline to match the body…'
bullcorn!
the most common question about braden keith isn't 'when does he sleep?'. it's 'when will he learn some ethics?'
i did, however, get this wonderful email from him:
Message flagged Monday, May 14, 2012 2:09 PM
Mr. Button,
Thanks for your kind words! I really appreciate you taking the time to read the site! Always nice to meet a fan!
I've spoken with coach Henry already this morning to apologize, you'll be happy to know. He didn't seem to be anywhere near as upset about it as you were.
The only reason the change was made was the difference between information I know, and information that I'm allowed to post, rather than any error. That's why "ethics" would not dictate a public apology.
Nice job dancing around anything that would constitute defamation. I can tell you're a real pro!
Stay tuned for more on the subject of Texas' assistant job.
All the best,
Braden
what a jackass...
I am severely disturbed by this article on so many levels. Braden has done such a great job for the sport in the last couple of months along with the other guys at swimswam. So maybe he jumped the gun on that particular fact but most in the swimming world know carol will probably bring in another assistant. To call anyone a jackass is so rude in my opinion. If anyone is owed an apology it is Braden- from you.
ReplyDeleteCathy Durden
Cathy,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. I see where you're coming from and have no problem with you backing Braden.
Still, we'll just have to disagree on this one.
I will ask you this: Would you feel the same about this little "jumping of the gun" if Dave were in the same spot as Jim?
I doubt it.
I stand by my characterization of Braden.
I understand this is not going to sit well with his "fans".
I have no problem with that.
In fact, I encourage fans of SwimSwam to show their support of Mr. Keith by boycotting this site.
That'll show me how wrong I am about Braden, won't it?
Button
Braden loves to interject his commentary and pass it as fact, which to a lot of his readers makes it so. Glad other people notice.
ReplyDeleteOh, how I love a little dust-up.
ReplyDeleteI love it even more when truth/reality is on the side I like to root for.
Yay, Stone Cold.
"Information I'm not allowed to post"??? Hmmm, maybe a job in government is right up Mr. Keith's alley if this swim thing pans out... ["A department insider who does not wish to be identified, and spoke on the condition of anonymity and a double-pinky swear, told us today that..."]
And as far as "...as of now they are seeking other options...", that seems to suggest someone has told the intrepid reporter on the Q-T that Jim IS on his way out, but I wonder if the statement -should- have read "...as of now they are considering all options..."?
If not for Jim, I think the team would have imploded much sooner.
??????
ReplyDeletehttp://swimswam.com/2012/05/roric-fink-is-the-new-assistant-at-texas/
AGREED! This is not the first "misleading" headline he has posted (remember the one about Brackin heading to Nitro which made it seem like she was going to be an age group coach?!) and it's frankly frustrating to see that any sense of journalistic integrity has been replaced by a need to get the story out there before anyone else, forget about Jim Henry, and disregard the Texas swimmers who hadn't yet been told of any coaching change and would read about it online before hearing it in person! He's also been known to speak to swimmers after their races and quote them in an article - - to the surprise of the swimmers who often had no idea they were being formally interviewed, just thought they were chatting with a nice swim fan. Unfortunate.
ReplyDeleteSwimswam is turning into the National Enquirer of swimming. I think their heart is in the right place, but they need to re-think their strategy. Too much speculation, misleading headlines, and sensationalism. F
ReplyDeleteJim Henry has been nothing but a class act with the girls best interest at heart. That is why the swimswam article really got under my skin. The article showed absolutely no respect for Jim as a person which still makes me angry. He held the team together and helped the girls enjoy swimming again. Swimming has always been a tight knit circle, and swimswam seems to want to create a divide for the sake of their own benefit. This type of reporting will catch up to them in the end.
ReplyDeletei'm pretty new to the twitter thing. are these things coaches tweet to individuals?
ReplyDeletehttps://twitter.com/#!/Braden_Keith/status/200256594800410624
https://twitter.com/#!/Braden_Keith/status/200258017046970369
call me old-fashioned (i've been called much worse), but this seems very inappropriate.
creepy.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny. I have posted some comments on the swimswam site, only to find that they never make their way to the actual site. Perhaps they don't like what I have to say?
ReplyDeleteFrom what I hear from National Team athletes, they have had enough of Braden and others that work for Swimswam. Mel Stewart taking pics of Michael Phelps when he sees him "out on the town", etc etc...these guys are doing all they can to get the story. Often times, the story hurts the athlete -- and most importantly doesn't tell the whole truth.
The athletes don't want to come out against Braden because he is control of a lot of media and he can obviously run rouge and do whatever he wants. So they keep it 'in house'. But he has no respect from the National Team.
my only attempt to comment on anything over at swimswam is in the first comment up above.
ReplyDeleteof course, it didn't go through.
i got a smart-ass email from braden and became the target of anonymous nasty comments.
just a coincidence, right?
source of those comments ceased visiting/posting once i posted screenshot with isp info from the jackass sending them:
http://texasswimming.blogspot.com/2013/10/gone-underground.html