ESPN Drops Anchor for Plagiarism; Hears a Ding

Image via WikipediaESPN anchor Will Selva has been suspended indefinitely for failing to attribute his on-air evaluation of  an upcoming Los Angeles Lakers contest to Orange County Register sportswriter Kevin Ding, whose column contained a passage recited nearly verbatim by Selva.

Selva, a 15-year veteran of broadcast journalism, apologized for appropriating Ding's assessment of the upcoming Lakers/Spurs game, and for not adhering to ESPN's "high standards."  Apparently, Selva didn't watch ESPN's broadcast of The Decision (See "TUOL" post 7/8/10).

A spokesperson for ESPN ("Everyone Stop Plagiarizing Now"?) said the Disney-owned network took the matter seriously, but concluded the anchor made a sloppy mistake, rather than an intentional attempt to infringe on someone else's work.