How a Benign Fake Story of 'Theft' and 'Race' Ruined Mike Shumann's Livelihood; Warriors and KGO in Cross Hairs; Lazy Sports Journalism Trumps Common Sense; 415 Media Special Report

OF ALL the most heinous things coming out of the Mike Shumann/Warriors affair involving an alleged "stolen" jacket that was never stolen in the first place involves certain sports media players quick to condemn but never making attempts to talk to the accused.

And then driving the "story"into a racial matter when race had absolutely no play and was inserted as cover for some overzealous people including some Warriors players and lazy sports media members.

Shumann was accused of stealing a jacket from a Warriors' team security guard (who has recently left the organization) the initial story was reported by The Athletic; did its reporter make an attempt to ask Shumann for comment? Get his explanation? Surely someone with 25 years at his employer deserves that but there was no attempt made by the reporter.

Crappy journalism.

Monte Poole, a veteran sports columnist and Warriors' Insider for the local NBC Sports Bay Area cable outlet who is African-American, wrote a column about some Warriors' players who injected race into the matter even though Shumann has never had any issues with Bay Area sports teams, let alone issues involving racial matters. I bring this up because Shumann went out of his way to return the jacket to its owner that night in San Antonio; unable to get it to the security guard, Shumann gave it to a prominent Warriors' PR person. This is verified.

There was no theft. There was, conspicuously, a video that showed Shumann taking the jacket and looking around for its owner. Should Shumann have left it there as is? You can say it might have been the best thing to do in retrospect but Shumann had no ill intentions and only wanted to get it the security guard as quickly as possible.

Yet the story had already developed a narrative that Shumann was a thief! and a white thief at that who in addition to his crime, received special treatment. Mind you the fact that Shumann's record of 25 years at KGO was spotless and that there's never been any incident whatsoever to indicate this type of behavior nor racial elements; of course it is far easier to let the story go viral; why ask questions now because that would require heavy lifting and actual reporting; let the facts rush forward and damn any explanation after all it's just a guy that has a quarter-century worth of time at his employer and livelihood on the line.

I don't know Shumann all that well; only occasionally we bumped into one another at various Warriors' games and other Bay Area sporting events. I have no vested interest in his travails here monetarily or otherwise. I believe Shumann at his word that he didn't steal any jacket and that the whole thing was a misunderstanding and that, with the assist by social media, developed a storm of its own with members never bothering to consider the facts. There is nothing to consider otherwise. If Shumann had any incidents in his life to suggest some investigation, OK, he loses the benefit of the doubt. There is no mark.

Shumann had a spotless record and was let go by ABC execs because their relationship with the Warriors involved significant monetary assets which trumped even an innocent employee in the cross hairs of a mostly benign matter that had no business going viral, literal, racial, or otherwise.

Shumann is a devoted family man with a wife and daughter in college; he's had to sell his house and painstakingly reinvent his livelihood and name. "It's a nightmare", he tells me.

I believe him.

NOTE:

If you like coming here and enjoy reading about current and past TV/Radio culture, then please CONTRIBUTE to this independent media blog that relies solely on reader contributions and donations; to donate, go to the "donate" button on the right side of the blog --just click on the "Pay Pal" button and make your contribution. It takes only a minute and will help keep 415 Media sustainable and at your service, 24/7.

I WILL PERSONALLY CALL YOU AND E-MAIL YOU THANKING YOU FOR YOUR DONATION.

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.

415 Media Exclusive: Mike Shumann Mulls Legal Action Against KGO-TV Over Alleged Warriors' Theft Incident; Says Whole Affair 'Was Total Misunderstanding'; KGO/Warriors Didn't Buy Excuse; Shumann 'Lawyers Up'

Mike Shumann

  IT WAS THOUGHT TO BE A MUTUAL PARTING, right? But we all know behind the scenes it was anything but.

Until now.

415 Media has learned, through multiple sources aware of the situation, that former sports anchor, Mike Shumann, is "highly considering" legal action against KGO-TV, the ABC local station which essentially fired him back in April following an alleged theft incident with the Warriors that ultimately spelled his doom.

Shumann was caught on video in San Antonio at the end of a team practice that shows him taking a jacket and then walking away --its images with various shots of Shumann looking around the scene and then leaving an almost empty arena with jacket in hand.

Shumann denied the story outright and said the whole thing was "a total misunderstanding."

I concurred.

In fact, the whole bizarre drama had almost the entire KGO newsroom in a total daze because Shumann, a 24-year employee at the station, had never been in any sort of trouble nor was he ever accused of something so damaging or seemingly out of character like this incident in San Antonio where he was immediately sent home by KGO with the Warriors' organization approval.

It turns out there's a more recent explanation.

Shumann, according to 415 Media sources,  told both KGO brass and Warriors' team officials:

he took the jacket when he left the practice because there were no other Warriors' personnel present and he grabbed the thing because he wanted to return it to the security guy (really, Steph Curry's main security guard) to whom it belonged.  But when Shumann went under the stands to find him, the guy wasn't around. So Shumann took it back with him to the hotel, with the intention to give the jacket to the guy the next time he saw him -- at the game.

But within hours and before Shumann was able to convey what really took place, the video of him "stealing" the jacket went viral and that Warriors' players seeing the video had immediately wanted him out. Soon, he was sent home from San Antonio and not so long after was taken off the Warriors' beat leading eventually to his leaving KGO in a mutually agreed-upon decision.

Only now it's learned the decision was rushed up and that Shumann denied any wrongdoing and feels he was thrown to the wolves. And even though his tenure at KGO was clean and that he had a solid relationship with Bay Area sports teams he was nevertheless sent packing.

KGO officials didn't buy his excuse and worrying about a backlash with a key sports client; a partner that directly provides the station with millions of dollars of revenue and national exposure; KGO quickly disposed of Shumann.

Now it appears Shumann is headed to court and has lawyered up.

*415MEDIA EXCLUSIVE

Money Dictates Shumann's Fate; KGO-TV's Lucrative Relationship with Warriors Probably Spells Doom for Veteran Sports Anchor

I DON'T LIKE THE INEVITABLE DECISION coming regarding Mike Shumann's likely dismissal because of an alleged theft, but odds are the 28-year KGO-TV sports anchor will be fired.

There's several factors dictating this move but the biggest one is the most obvious: money.

It always is.

KGO makes a ton of money off its business relationship with the Warriors; those post-game shows involve several millions of dollars --no wonder it's all "exclusive" content.

"The revenue generated by the 'Warriors essentially pays the station its freight," said a KGO staffer familiar with the broadcast terms. Which means any deviation from its broadcast rights with the team is virtually unbreakable. That status probably spells doom for Shumann.

Shumann, according to those in the know, wasn't liked by many players on the team before the alleged theft incident in San Antonio.

Furthermore, after watching the video of the affair, many players stated they would no longer speak to him. That would complicate matters with KGO, which would obviously have to make a tough decision regarding Shumann's fate even if his "it was a total misunderstanding" reaction to the San Antonio is true.

KGO could simply take Shumann off the Warriors' beat (as they did before Sunday's and Tuesday's games) and replace him with Larry Beil; a decision on that and all other matters is supposedly being bandied about at KGO's 900 Front building.