Is ESPN’s Sarah Phillips A Front For A Scam?
Um, this new article from Deadspin might be the strangest thing that I have ever come across on the Internet. According to their investigative report, ESPN columnist/writer/personality Sarah Phillips might be nothing more than a cover for a scam. The report relies on the account of the person behind the NBA Memes Facebook page.
See, this article is crazy. Phillips rose out of nowhere to get a column at a gambling website and then moved on to ESPN. She might also be a non-existent person. According to the pictures she has used, she never looks the same. She has appeared on video, thanks to her contest about LeBron James no rings jokes but there is a chance that is also a staged person.
This has a lot of long lasting implications if it is true. It would give credence to the people who believe that bloggers are only a creation of the Internet. It would severely hamper their credibility moving forward. The Internet is still a wide open place and people can create new personas on a whim. If this is true, the sports writing world will have to look at itself in the mirror.
Deadspin has an odd reputation, but remember this. These people broke the Jenn Sterger/Brett Favre saga. They have some amazing investigative pieces. They might post odd stuff, but this might be something that needs to be double checked by a lot of people. If it is true, it will change a lot of things. We will have to wait to see how this ends up.
UPDATE: ESPN has announced they have terminated their relationship with Phillips.
“We’ve ended our freelance relationship” with Sarah Phillips, ESPN spokesman says
UPDATE 2: Why yes, she is the front for a scam. We just haven’t gotten to the bottom of it yet.
- Phillips is known to have bought Twitter accounts under odd circumstances.
- Her Sports Comedy Network thing has not gotten off the ground quite yet
- She has threatened legal action against those who try to call her on it.
- There are two go getting individuals outside her address waiting for her to speak.
So this saga will keep growing. I want to thanks Deadspin for compiling all of this information in one spot. We will keep updating this post as more information about the elusive Phillips comes up.
Is she a 22 year old college student caught in something out of her control? Is she a made up persona to front a scam? Or is she the most manipulative person to ever walk the planet? I guess we will find out soon.
If you have any information about about Sarah Phillips or Nilesh Prasad, please reach out to us, either at my Twitter account or email address. This story is only going to get better.
UPDATE 3: Sarah Phillips and Nilesh Prasad have been intertwined since high school. Possibly dating and were both fired for a scam at T-Mobile in 2010. Deadspin has more details.