Columnist Fired for Plagiarizing Rick Reilly

Sports columnist Rick Reilly is in the news this week because he's finally making his long-awaited debut at ESPN after years of writing for Sports Illustrated.

But he's also in the news because a columnist at the Vancouver Province lost his job for plagiarizing a column Reilly wrote in 2000 about basketball coach Al McGuire. The Province explains:

The most striking was a passage in Reilly's piece: "They say he was born 72 years ago last Thursday, but don't believe it. McGuire dropped straight out of Guys and Dolls with a martini in one hand and a basketball in the other."

Pratt wrote in Tuesday's column in The Province: "Cole was born 75 years ago, but it's more likely he dropped straight out of Guys and Dolls with a martini in one hand and a puck in the other."

Pratt's explanation is interesting.

The Province's story about the plagiarism includes this:

"I did it, no question," said Pratt. "It was a mistake. In our [radio] business, lines get used back and forth all the time. That particular line is a pretty famous line and I should have credited Reilly with it and I didn't. It was a stupid mistake and something I regret and I'll make damn sure I'll never do it again.

"I'm looking for stuff from everywhere," added Pratt. "We recycle everything. The sheer amount of volume we produce forces you to constantly be looking for different people's ideas."

As someone who knows a thing or two about producing at high volume, I find that fascinating because I think that among radio talkers, it's actually quite common to use other people's words without crediting them. I don't see any ethical distinction between taking someone else's words on the radio and taking someone else's words in print, but Pratt seems to, even as he acknowledges his mistake.

More at Sporting Madness, the CBC and Romenesko.