Atlas should be fired by ESPN if he fails to support his allegations

By Dennis "dSource" Guillermo - It's been 48-hours, and I still have not gotten any word regarding Teddy Atlas' source or anything to support his bold claim during ESPN's Friday Night Fights seen by hundreds of thousands, if not millions of viewers worldwide.

Atlas said that through an unnamed "reliable source", someone from Team Pacquiao had sent an e-mail to Mayweather's camp inquiring about the consequences of their blood testing request. Allegedly, a member of Team Pacquiao had asked Team Mayweather if they could keep things secret to save the integrity of boxing in case Pacquiao is found guilty of doping.

However, Boxingtalk.com broke a story recently stating that Atlas' story is false. They quoted Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum saying that the alleged e-mail "does not exist" and that ESPN should issue an apology soon for not checking their facts.

If this is indeed true, Atlas should be accountable for such irresponsible statements. Whether his intent was to try and get in the middle of the much-debated Pacquiao-Mayweather issue and deliver a "scoop" or he is simply biased against Pacquiao is something only he knows for himself but the fact of the matter is, if Atlas can't produce his source or any proof regarding his implicating statement, then he should definitely be fired from ESPN for spreading bogus information. I'm sure Pacquiao's lawyers are already (if they haven't yet) entertaining thoughts of including him in their defamation lawsuit.

Coincidentally, Atlas' statement is already in the lawsuit and was stated on page 8 and line 21 citing Tim Smith's article in the New York Daily News published on December 25, 2009. As stated in the lawsuit, Team Pacquiao vehemently denied the rumor and wrote that it was a member of Team Mayweather that probably leaked that information.

So what was Atlas trying to do? Further create turmoil in an already murky situation? He kept mentioning the blue-collar guy and casual fans' perception of the matter yet he further indulged the same naive notions he mentioned and submerged the public under more baseless accusations. If he was so sure about his source and his story, then why not reveal all the facts instead of implying and hiding his damaging remarks behind "anonymous sources"?

This is what's wrong with boxing. The politics. The lies. The misinformation. It's just unappetizing. You'd think these old people who have gotten rich off the sport would give back to it and think about it's integrity first before blurting out baseless accusations. What happened to loving the sport and reporting facts? Atlas got some explaining to do. And for the sake of boxing, I hope he does back up his claims. Enough people have been led and misled to a certain belief. Either way, people deserve and need to see facts. Just like what you see inside a real Atlas.

Source: examiner.com