Mike Breen did not retire. Let’s start there.
As far as we know, the legendary ESPN announcer will be back this fall as the voice of the NBA. Breen signed a contract extension in 2023 and went to bat for his partners Doris Burke and Richard Jefferson after their first NBA Finals together this spring.
But on Wednesday afternoon, a parody account of ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania posted a fake scoop that Breen was retiring. Ignoring the fact that the post came from an account called “Scam Charnia” that shouldn’t have been so deceptive, fellow ESPNers Ramona Shelburne and Marc J. Spears — among many other NBA fans on X — fell for it.
“Triple bang for the Hall of Famer,” Shelburne wrote.
“Legendary announcer and legendary humble person,” Spears added.
Both posts have since been deleted.
Spears appeared to acknowledge his mistake in a subsequent post. It seems that once Shelburne caught the fake post, she may have informed Spears about it. Both ESPN reporters were on NBA Today on Wednesday.
“Thanks @ramonashelburne,” Spears wrote, with multiple laughing emojis.
Parody accounts aren’t new, but professional reporters can typically identify them; however, this certainly isn’t the first time ESPN talent have been fooled. And usually, the creators of the accounts try a little harder than using the name “Scam” within it.
Yet Scam Charnia caught lightning in a bottle on Wednesday, briefly convincing the NBA internet that Mike Breen was hanging up his sport coat. Even, somehow, Breen’s own colleagues at the Worldwide Leader.