Ian Rapoport (Photo via NFL Network)
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport was hilariously duped by a former NFL coach, leading to the most embarrassing moment of his career. And he does not think it was funny at all.
Mike Mularkey recently spilled the beans on a talk show in Jacksonville, revealing that back in 2018, he told Rapoport he was about to sign an extension, although he knew the Titans were about to fire him.
The journalist reported the false extension, and Mularkey was fired the following day. The former coach explained that he wanted to mess with his bosses and create some confusion within the organization after taking them to the playoffs only to be rewarded with termination; it was unfortunate that poor Ian had to get caught in the arc of fire.
“The best thing I did there at the end, which I can now talk about was, when I got called in that Monday morning after the New England game, I knew they were going to fire me,” Mularkey recalled.
“So Sunday night I called Ian Rapoport and I said, ‘Hey, I don’t know if you know this but I’m going to break it to you. But I’m getting a new contract in the morning.’ And he reported it. It was all over the country that I was getting a contract in the morning.”
Do you remember @RapSheet reporting Mike Mularkey was going to get a contract extension from the #TitanUp
but was fired instead? I think we might know why… @BrentASJax @A_Train_92 pic.twitter.com/2YlyRg7d2k— BrentDanStuartMarcelAlivia (@ActionSportsJax) November 20, 2024
Ian Rapoport Did Not Find This Funny
Rapoport reacted to a video of Mularkey’s revelation this weekend, reliving the embarrassment on “The Insiders,” making it clear that he was upset and did not find it funny.
“Those guys, yukking it up — pretty funny, for them, I guess,” he said. “If you don’t care about accuracy and taking someone’s reputation and rubbing it in the mud.
“Everyone said Mike Mularkey’s a good guy — he always was to me. I liked him. Thought he was very respectable. That is not cool. That’s not funny. I was a younger reporter then, and the amount of online hate and ridicule I got because Mike Mularkey thought it would be funny to get back at his old boss, it was not fun.
“So, I don’t have much to say. I don’t blame Mike Mularkey. But I want to. That was not cool and that was not funny. And we should treat truth better than that.”
Years ago, Mike Mularkey thought it would be funny to lie to me to get back at his #Titans bosses. It was not funny.
With one of the biggest mysteries of my career solved, I responded on The Insiders. pic.twitter.com/chrJll1T6b
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 23, 2024
Come on, Rap. That was funny.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero Shows No Mercy On Ian Rapoport, Brutally Roasts Him On Live TV (VIDEO)
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero had a hilarious lighthearted exchange on live television on Tueday.
Rapoport, Pelissero and Steve Wyche were reporting at the NFL annual league meeting in Phoenix on Tuesday. Rapoport was reporting on “a top-notch free” agent, which set up Pelissero for a friendly chirp.
Pelissero stated, “Big-time receiver. Some of us are small-time insiders who are standing on a box to look the same height as the other guys.” Wyche added, “I’m the one NOT on the box.”
Rapoport took the roast with pure class. Rapoport added he’s “not embarrassed” about it, later stating on Twitter that he’s not ashamed.
There isn’t an official listing of Rapoport’s height. Some websites (without official confirmation) list him at 5-foot-6 to 5-foot-8. Bottom line: Sticks and stone may break his bones, but words will never hurt the NFL insider.
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Rapoport has also popped in headlines thanks to words from Green Bay Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who hasn’t been shy in calling out prominent insiders like Rapoport himself as well as ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
But like he did with Pelissero’s roast, Rapoport only handled the criticism from Rodgers with pure class. The man has thick skin, alright.
Now, we wait and see if Rapoport will look for an opportunity to roast Pelissero back on a future live television segment. Stay tuned.
