Jeff Pearlman has spent much of the last several years positioning himself as one of sports media's loudest critics, frequently calling out journalists, broadcasters and media personalities over their work and ethics.
Now, the longtime sportswriter and bestselling author finds himself on the other side of that conversation.
Pearlman, a Southern California resident who has taught journalism as an adjunct professor at Chapman University for the past decade, publicly apologized after YouTube creator Velodus accused him of plagiarizing large portions of a 2021 video about former New York Yankees prospect Ruben Rivera. Awful Announcing was the first to detail the scandal.
Velodus published a detailed follow-up video identifying what he said were 23 instances in which Pearlman's video mirrored his original work, including newspaper clippings, archival footage, photographs and editing choices. According to Velodus, several graphics even retained alterations unique to his original edit.
Pearlman's version appeared on his Press Box Chronicles YouTube channel, which has a significantly larger audience than Velodus' channel, and included a sponsored advertisement. After the allegations gained traction, Pearlman made the Rivera video private, deleted his Bluesky account (he had already previously deleted his X/Twitter account) and later released a TikTok video addressing the controversy.

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