Reddit User Who Reported Edelman Suspension Teases ‘Major’ Patriots News (UPDATE: It was a Hoax)
By Matt Dolloff, 985TheSportsHub.com
We live in strange times, indeed. The internet – and its super-popular subset, social media – are vast, powerful entities, with varying degrees of influence across their infinite channels. They’ve transformed breaking news forever. And they’ve allowed people to break stories, if they so choose, anonymously, without necessarily being an established journalist.
Which brings us to Reddit, and the curious case of the Julian Edelman suspension. Who is “RedditLover1981”? Is it Adam Schefter or Field Yates’ burner account? Bill Belichick’s? An ESPN intern on a karma-fueled power trip? Whoever it is, it’s certainly possible that he or she resides in Bristol. And the user absolutely had the scoop with Edelman’s pending PED suspension, reporting via – where else? – Reddit on Wednesday that it would become national news exactly when the pending suspension became national news.
Well, the person clearly has a pipeline toward sensitive Patriots information some way. And now, “RedditLover1981” is back with another big-market tease. The user is teasing another bombshell involving a member of the team, one that is currently on the books for beyond the 2018 season.
The post is still up on Reddit, but its main content has been removed. “RedditLover1981” said it has “MAJOR Patriots news”, hinting at something “negative” involving a “multi-year Patriot”. The post encouraged commenters to guess the news, which would’ve caused the user to report it prior to the promised time of 5 p.m. on Friday.
He/she also told those playing along to “think outside the box” in lieu of suspension or retirement guesses. A trade? Legal trouble? Who the heck knows what’s going on anymore.
The post might have no legitimacy whatsoever. But “RedditLover1981” undoubtedly gained plenty of legitimacy with the Edelman report. So we’ll see if another major Patriots story drops in the trash dump that is 5 p.m. on Friday. It’s worth noting that both posts have had their main content removed, but that could simply mean the user has been caught by his/her employer and forced to delete.
As it often is on the internet, this just keeps getting more and more strange.
UPDATE: “RedditLover1981” has revealed that the whole thing was a hoax, and that he somehow guessed on the Edelman news and got lucky. So pretty much everyone in the local/national media got duped. There were continued Rob Gronkowski rumors after that, but those were also swiftly denied.
The lesson that Reddit Dude has taught us all here is to at least be skeptical of reports coming from anonymous people on the internet.
Matt Dolloff is a digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff or email him at [email protected].