Attribute speculative reports if there is
consensus to mention it at all.
Many popular sports, especially at the professional level, receive extensive news coverage. Wikipedia is
not a newspaper. However, transactions involving hirings/signings, trades, and firings/releases are
often considered encyclopedic for articles on a season for a league/team, or biographies of athletes and other key personnel.
When extensive coverage exists,
reliable sources may report
breaking news on a transaction based on
anonymous sources. Indications that news is speculative include phrases such as "a person with knowledge of the negotiations says", "spoke on condition of anonymity", "has not yet signed a contract",[1] "are expected to acquire",[2] "cannot become official until",[3] and "still trying to confirm details".[4] Additionally, some sports leagues have periods where negotiations can take place, but a deal cannot become official until a future date e.g. the
July moratorium in the
National Basketball Association (NBA).[3] In these cases, the transaction should not be presented as having been completed, and
infoboxes should not be updated.
In the past, some unofficial transactions were not consummated due to reasons including players reneging on verbal agreements,[6] vetoes by the league,[8] complications with
no-trade clauses,[11] or a different transaction materializing altogether.[14] If anything is to be presented at all, it should be limited to prose
attributed to the source that is reporting the transaction. For example, "On March 5, 2013, ACME News reported that John Doe will sign with XYZ." It would be inappropriate
original research and
future speculation to present this as "On March 5, 2013, John Doe signed with XYZ."
A transaction can be considered official if sources report it as completed and attribute it to a named, reputable league or team official.[15] Sometimes players that are
free agents may announce their agreement to a contract before the team confirms a contract has been signed and completed. Consensus at Wikipedia articles may determine that the player should be reflected in the article as being a member of the team, even prior to an official announcement by the team.[18] Otherwise, it may be a lengthy discussion on the distinction between an "official signing" and a player's publicly announced agreement to sign.[19]
Examples of deals that fell through or where reports were plain wrong
^In the
National Basketball Association (NBA) in 2011,
Chris Paul was allegedly traded to the
Los Angeles Lakers until the league rejected the trade.[7] An earlier report by the Los Angeles Times had conditional phrases such as "The Lakers are expected to acquire..." and "Paul, 26, would replace ..." (underlining added for emphasis).[2]
^In
Major League Baseball (MLB) in 2012,
Ryan Dempster was allegedly traded to the
Atlanta Braves until the deal fell through. An initial report said the deal was "confirmed" while the reporter was also "still trying to confirm details".[4][9] Dempster was deciding whether to waive his no-trade clause, but the Braves moved on after their self-imposed deadline passed.[10]
^In the NBA in 2014,
Chris Bosh's July 12 post on Twitter was interpreted by the media as affirmation of his intention to re-sign with the
Miami Heat.[16] However, his signing was not officially announced by the Heat until July 30.[17]
^Salisbury, Jim.
"How a 'review of medical records' killed Phils' deal". NBC Sports Philadelphia. The Phillies had a trade for a much-needed starting pitcher blow up Tuesday night because of medical concerns over one of the players in the deal.
Attribute speculative reports if there is
consensus to mention it at all.
Many popular sports, especially at the professional level, receive extensive news coverage. Wikipedia is
not a newspaper. However, transactions involving hirings/signings, trades, and firings/releases are
often considered encyclopedic for articles on a season for a league/team, or biographies of athletes and other key personnel.
When extensive coverage exists,
reliable sources may report
breaking news on a transaction based on
anonymous sources. Indications that news is speculative include phrases such as "a person with knowledge of the negotiations says", "spoke on condition of anonymity", "has not yet signed a contract",[1] "are expected to acquire",[2] "cannot become official until",[3] and "still trying to confirm details".[4] Additionally, some sports leagues have periods where negotiations can take place, but a deal cannot become official until a future date e.g. the
July moratorium in the
National Basketball Association (NBA).[3] In these cases, the transaction should not be presented as having been completed, and
infoboxes should not be updated.
In the past, some unofficial transactions were not consummated due to reasons including players reneging on verbal agreements,[6] vetoes by the league,[8] complications with
no-trade clauses,[11] or a different transaction materializing altogether.[14] If anything is to be presented at all, it should be limited to prose
attributed to the source that is reporting the transaction. For example, "On March 5, 2013, ACME News reported that John Doe will sign with XYZ." It would be inappropriate
original research and
future speculation to present this as "On March 5, 2013, John Doe signed with XYZ."
A transaction can be considered official if sources report it as completed and attribute it to a named, reputable league or team official.[15] Sometimes players that are
free agents may announce their agreement to a contract before the team confirms a contract has been signed and completed. Consensus at Wikipedia articles may determine that the player should be reflected in the article as being a member of the team, even prior to an official announcement by the team.[18] Otherwise, it may be a lengthy discussion on the distinction between an "official signing" and a player's publicly announced agreement to sign.[19]
Examples of deals that fell through or where reports were plain wrong
^In the
National Basketball Association (NBA) in 2011,
Chris Paul was allegedly traded to the
Los Angeles Lakers until the league rejected the trade.[7] An earlier report by the Los Angeles Times had conditional phrases such as "The Lakers are expected to acquire..." and "Paul, 26, would replace ..." (underlining added for emphasis).[2]
^In
Major League Baseball (MLB) in 2012,
Ryan Dempster was allegedly traded to the
Atlanta Braves until the deal fell through. An initial report said the deal was "confirmed" while the reporter was also "still trying to confirm details".[4][9] Dempster was deciding whether to waive his no-trade clause, but the Braves moved on after their self-imposed deadline passed.[10]
^In the NBA in 2014,
Chris Bosh's July 12 post on Twitter was interpreted by the media as affirmation of his intention to re-sign with the
Miami Heat.[16] However, his signing was not officially announced by the Heat until July 30.[17]
^Salisbury, Jim.
"How a 'review of medical records' killed Phils' deal". NBC Sports Philadelphia. The Phillies had a trade for a much-needed starting pitcher blow up Tuesday night because of medical concerns over one of the players in the deal.