While the Michigan football team has been no stranger to the spotlight for the last few weeks, the Wolverines were a part of an unexpected headline on Thursday when The Michigan Insider reported that the program had fired a staffer in September after he was allegedly caught on video attempting to solicit a teenage girl.
And while that story was strange enough on its own, it took another twist when the hosts of two different Michigan football shows engaged in a public feud regarding its reporting.
Taking to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), James Yoder, who hosts the Michigan Football Report on YouTube, accused Wolverines beat writers of knowing about the story of the since-fired staffer but not reporting on it. In particular, Yoder singled out The Michigan Insider’s Sam Webb, who didn’t author the report that was ultimately published.
“Local Michigan football beat writers, including Sam Webb, were sent this the video of Alex Yood several days ago, and not a single one published it,” Yoder wrote.
Webb, who also hosts the Michigan Insider radio show on WTKA in Ann Arbor, responded by denying he had been sent the video days earlier. The longtime Wolverines insider also stated that Yoder had blocked him on X and posted a pair of screen shots: one inferring that Yoder had previously used language that was racist in nature and another showing an letter from a member of the Michigan administration warning the parents of Wolverines student-athletes about Yoder’s coverage of the program which made some headlines back in 2019.
The back and forth didn’t stop there, with Yoder replying to Webb’s post with an expletive-laced video further accusing the radio host of covering up for the Wolverines.
“You had this video and you decided not to [report on it] because you’re an access journalist and you have absolutely no ethics or standards,” said Yoder, who also claimed that the letter from the UM administration that Webb posted was a fabrication (although again, the letter was covered in the press in 2019).
From there, the exchange (further) devolved into what one might expect to see on a college football message board. Yoder proceeded to post memes and personal insults directed at Webb, who in turn accused Yoder of racism and threatening his family.
While the timing of the report — which came shortly after disgraced former Ohio State assistant coach Zach Smith mentioned the incident on his own YouTube show — is curious, that doesn’t change that this entire exchange is a tough look for all involved. Even if Yoder has evidence that Webb (or anyone else) sat on the story, he’d be better off sharing that information in a manner less antagonistic and seemingly reckless than how he did. And while no one could fault Webb for defending himself, one could also argue that he would have been better off simply ignoring Yoder than engaging in the public back and forth.
Add it all together and you have a messy public argument over an even messier story. And with the coverage of the Wolverines’ sign-stealing scandal ongoing, this might not be the last time we see this kind of Michigan-based media feud.