I am a huge NASCAR fan, so when NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver AJ Allmendinger (yes, that is a real name) tested positive for adderall, I was somewhat shocked, for a few reasons.
First off, I was shocked that a NASCAR driver tested positive for drugs. After all, it isn't a sport like football or baseball where PED's are such a problem. Allmendinger was taking the pills to combat his ADHD, but they were on the list of drugs deemed illegal, so he had to pay the price.
Secondly, the timing of this was incredible. The news came just mere hours before he was supposed to race in the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. He was escorted out of the track and a replacement driver was flown in last minute. But now, let't get to what really matters when it comes to this project: how the media handled it.
The various media outlets covered and handled this incident strangely. ESPN isn't too big on NASCAR coverage, so they weren't too educated on the incident. But networks like SPEED, which is 100% motorsports oriented, were. Those networks looked at it from all sides, like the owner, driver, sponsor and family side. And considered everybody. But ESPN didn't. They made false assumptions and were called out on it.
Overall, the media broke this news story strangely and handled it strangely as well. It was broken on live television and handled differently than from other drug incidents in major sports (like NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB, etc.)