ESPN’s Peter Schrager says he feels for everyone caught up in the viral Mike Macdonald clip featuring a story involving Denver Broncos’ head coach Sean Payton. That includes Graham Bensinger, the interviewer whose show sparked the controversy.
What We Know: The clip surfaced Tuesday from Macdonald’s recent appearance on In Depth With Graham Bensinger. In it, Macdonald said Payton threatened a cheating accusation over roughly 100 plays Seattle pulled from fan-posted training camp videos. Soon after, a fan’s post on X drew millions of views. Meanwhile, the Seahawks reportedly didn’t know anyone had recorded that exchange until Tuesday morning. Schrager shared his thoughts on the situation with Brock & Salk on Seattle Sports.
What They Said: (All quotes via Seattle Sports):
Peter Schrager feels terrible for all involved with the Mike McDonald footage from his Graham Bensinger interview: “I haven’t spoken to him. I don’t know him that well. It breaks my heart for everyone involved. Obviously he burned all the bridges in Seattle, and he’s not going to get a chance [to return]. But like, how often is Graham Bensinger coming up to Seattle? I don’t see there being a big Leonard Williams sit down coming up anyway.”
Peter Schrager doesn’t feel upset about what happened overall: “It doesn’t [bother me]. I felt for him. I don’t think the reporter there was looking for that. It sucked. The whole thing sucks. I felt for everyone involved. Obviously it’s a betrayal of trust. And obviously you put yourself in Mike’s [Macdonald] shoes, and you feel completely blindsided, and it’s a horrible situation from that side.”
Peter Schrager doesn’t think Graham Bensinger feels great about the clip leaking: “From the journalist side, I feel sick to my stomach. I can only imagine if that was posted and that was my face on it, knowing that everyone in the media today is like, well, that’s just journalism one on one, and you just tripped over the line.”
Peter Schrager feels Bensinger would take back the release of the clip if he could: “In hindsight, I think he [Bensinger] would look in the mirror and probably say, “I regret that being posted.” Obviously, it’s crushing for everyone because that’s the last thing Mike [MacDonald] needs right now. Or Sean Payton.”
What Remains Unclear: It remains unclear whether Macdonald knew the conversation was being recorded. ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio reports that Macdonald intended part of the conversation to remain private.
What It Means: Ultimately, the episode shows that everything is potentially on the record without a clear agreement otherwise. For Bensinger, releasing the clip could make future subjects wary of sitting down with him. Moreover, Schrager believes Bensinger has likely burned his bridges in Seattle. On top of that, the feud adds heat to the teams’ upcoming week six Thursday night matchup.
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