Dan Patrick Blasts ESPN, Local Reporters for ‘Holding’ Story About Car Crash Involving San Francisco 49ers Coach: ‘What Are We Hiding?’

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Dan Patrick called out ESPN for seemingly sitting on a story about San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan getting into a car crash.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter announced this past Saturday that Shahanan was involved in a serious wrecked that hospitalized him. The 46-year-old sustained broken ribs, fractures to his nose and hand, and was severely concussed. It was later revealed that he nearly lost an eye, as well.

Although Schefter reported on the accident July 25, it actually occurred July 14. With such an incident being public information that was surely available to the press, many wondered why it took so long for the story to come out.

“So the Niners kept it quiet for 11 days,” Patrick on Monday’s episode of The Dan Patrick Show. “I don’t know how they did this or why they did this. The Niners posted a statement regarding the accident at midnight Eastern on Saturday. Adam Schefter posted his first tweet on the situation one minute later. The ESPN article about the accident published at one minute after that. So, did you release this to everybody, this information? Why is ESPN holding the information? Why are the Niners? Now, I guess if the Niners can hold the information, I understand it, but if you’re in the news gathering business, or at least you used to be — the NFL now owns 10% of ESPN — but did ESPN have the information and chose to sit on it for 11 days? Did ESPN say to the Niners, ‘We won’t release it until you tell us to release it?'”

Patrick then added that reporting on information was minutes away from being announced by the team wasn’t real journalism.

“This isn’t journalism,” he continued. “Not really reporting. They’re giving you the information and the acknowledgement of, ‘OK, now you can tell everybody.’ Do we wait for other NFL news? Situations, embargoes? Like, that’s the odd thing with this. Why did you wait 11 days? Nobody knew anything?”

Patrick said that as a result of the team’s unusual handling of the situation, conspiracy theories have begun to circulate online.

“I just want to know why it was held,” he said. “Public knowledge or police records? What are we hiding?”

On Monday, Sports Illustrated reporter Grant Cohn uncovered records indicating Shanahan was using his cell phone at the time of the crash. Although it’s illegal to use a phone while operating a vehicle, Cohn continued, Shanahan wasn’t cited for the violation.

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