Claim: An Associated Press dispatch mistakenly sent out to newspapers included home phone numbers for hundreds of well-known sports figures.
Example:[Collected on the Internet, 2004]
Some clown from AP Sports put his entire rolodex in a story and sent it out ... Someone is handing him a brightly colored pink slip as we speak. So many good names... can't wait to drunk dial Steinbrenner & Bush
PHONES,
Aaron Hank
ABC Radio
Abdul-Jabbar Kareem
Abraham Seth
AC Nielsen
Adams Alan
Adcock Joe
Albert Marv
Alderson Sandy
Alfano, Pete (ATP)
Allen Doug (NFLPA)
Allen Mel
Alliss Peter
Anderson Dick
Anderson Ottis
Anderson Sparky
Andretti Mario
Andros Dee
Angelos Peter
Antonucci John
AP Broadcast
AP Radio
Arbitron
Archibald Tiny
Argovitz Jerry
Argyros George
Armato Leonard (agent for Shaq, atty for Kareem)
Arnold Jennifer
Arum Bob
Atlanta Organizing Committee (Bob Brennan)
Auerbach Red
Autry Gene
Origins: We've truncated the list to the 'A' entries and removed the phone numbers in the example reproduced above, but it is a real excerpt from an Associated Press dispatch inadvertently sent out to newspaper sports departments on 7 January 2004. The full list included home phone numbers for hundreds of current and former professional athletes, managers, and coaches from a wide variety of sports, as well as team owners, league officials, agents, lawyers, news outlets, and media rating companies. (Many of the entries on the list are obviously out-of-date; some of the people included, such as former Anaheim Angels owner Gene Autry, have passed away.)
The transmission of the list was soon followed by a second dispatch advising recipients to "Disregard" the previous dispatch.
According to the Los Angeles Times:
An AP spokesman called it an "inadvertent transmission."
Said Times Sports Editor Bill Dwyre: "Knowing [AP sports editor] Terry Taylor, there's going to be an opening in her department."
Sources:
