Everybody makes mistakes, and writers will be the first ones to admit that they’re not perfect and get things wrong sometimes in the pieces they file just like the next guy.

When those mistakes happen, the most important thing a writer can do is to request their editor issue an update or a correction at the top of their original report so anyone clicking on it will be able to see it right at the top of the page. Depending on how big the error was, sometimes it’s best if the original piece is archived and a new one is put in its place noting the issues with what was originally written in the interests of full transparency.

With all of that in mind, we turn to an opinion piece that was published Saturday at the Deadspin website, which I’ve been told is one of the more “woke” sports news and information sites on the Intertubes.

The focus of the story written by author Sean Beckwith was how unjust it allegedly was that San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel was being floated for a possible head coaching opportunity with another NFL team. The issue, according to Beckwith, was that McDaniel was a white guy, and the last thing the NFL needed right now in his view was another white coach.

In a piece that included a subheadline that read “Please stop and think before you inadvertently dub another young, white guy as the next hot NFL coaching prospect,” Beckwith wrote:

Mike McDaniel, the San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator who has gone viral for his “adorable” news conferences featuring references to Mike Jones and engaging answers, is ticking off all the boxes to be the next trendy, young, white guy who takes a head coaching position before one of the many deserving Black candidates.

[…]

He might be brilliant, he might be the next Josh McDaniels, but he’s not more qualified than any of the Black coaches who just got fired — including Brian Flores — or the longtime coordinators who can’t seem to get hired.

The Texans may be the most egregious example of not giving a Black coach a fair shot, eyeing Josh McCown, who moonlighted as a high school football coach for a year, to replace one-and-done David Culley, but McDaniel is a perfect example of how qualified Black candidates get overlooked.

While the piece was ticked all the appropriate “woke” boxes it was supposed to, there was just one teensy tiny thing wrong.

McDaniels is biracial, according to an NBC Sports report from March 2021:

McDaniel said he had an epiphany at an early age when he was visiting his grandmother on his father’s side of the game. When he looked at the photos around the house, he realized he looked different than other members of his family.

“It is surreal when I think about it, but I remember one particular day, walking around and all of a sudden noticing that, ‘Hey, I’m the only fair-skinned person in all these picture frames,’” McDaniel said. “My grandmother on my dad’s side is Black. My dad’s Black.

The editors left Beckwith’s piece as is but did post an embarrassing note at the top of the page:

We learned after the publication of this article that 49ers OC Mike McDaniel, whom we describe as a “white guy,” is in fact biracial. The article’s original text remains below. We regret the error.

Can you say “cringe”?

This isn’t the first time Deadspin’s been caught spouting off about a race-based topic on which they clearly know nothing. Back in December, they tweeted and then later deleted a post in which they called ESPN anchor Sage Steele, who is a conservative, the “black Candace Owens,” apparently unaware that Owens is black.

To quote the sports commentator whose name I can’t remember offhand: Come on, man. Injecting wokeness into everything is bad enough – especially sports, but at least try to get the basic facts right next time before you go jumping on that high horse, ‘mkay?

Flashback: Outrage Mob Swarms Tony Romo Over Joke About Tom Brady’s Wife Gisele and I Have Thoughts