The ball is in ESPN's court after one of its writers threw the World Wide Leader in Sports under the bus.
Deadspin.com reported that ESPN posted a story about the death of an MMA fighter Thursday under the byline of writer Josh Gross.
The fighter, heavyweight Shane Del Rosario, was on life support after suffering a series of heart attacks this week, according to Deadspin.com, but Del Rosario's family and others said he is still alive.
Gross also tweeted that he never wrote the article stating Gross had died.
"If you see an ESPN UK story with my byline saying Shane Del Rosario has died, ignore it," Gross tweeted. "I didn't write that. Don't know what's up. Awful."
That drew a response from someone with the Twitter name of @MMAPhilosophy, asking, "@JoshGrossESPN So be clear: it isn't just that a story you wrote for potential future use was published without your consent?"
To which Gross responded, "@MMAPhilosophy I never wrote that. Don't know who did."
Later Thursday, ESPN did post Gross' update, stating that Del Rosario was on life support, "but has 'no brain activity remaining' after suffering sudden cardiac arrest at his home Tuesday morning."
The false report about Del Rosario's death drew a tweet from UFC commissioner Dana White saying, "RIP Shane Del Rosario."
The report Gross takes credit for said the 30-year-old Del Rosario underwent a procedure Wednesday but failed to show any signs of brain activity. Doctors should make the final decision about keeping Del Rosario on life support this morning, but "for all intents and purposes it is over," Colin Oyama, the fighter's longtime trainer, texted Gross from the hospital, where the trainer stayed with members of the Del Rosario family.
ESPN had not yet addressed the erroneous report and how Gross' byline was used.
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