It's Clipped? | Recess Report Podcast
- Joshua U.
- Sep 15
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 17
In today's day and age, you'll see news outlets and its reporters work in near-perfect harmony with the subjects they're covering more often than not.
It's understandable to some degree; especially when you consider how powerful some of these subjects can be. As an example, look no further than how the Trump White House has been covered in 2025. Previous pieces on the Recess Report have spelled that out for you and then some.
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When you look to the world of professional sports, it's typically more of the same. The heavy-hitter reporters at sports media's largest network, ESPN, aren't really investigative reporters -- they're moreso company men.
Think about it: when's the last time you saw ESPN Senior NFL Insider Adam Schefter break a truly groundbreaking story that didn't center around player transactions or injuries? You can say the same for ESPN's MLB Insider Jeff Passan and NBA Insider Shams Charania. They deliver scoops, not exploratory news.

After creating an impenetrable reputation as a trusted NBA news breaker, Shams Charania joined ESPN's NBA coverage in 2024.
That's been the book on ESPN and their relationship with the 4 major sports leagues for a while now. They're in bed with all of them now more than ever before, and that'll ring even truer in the future with the new, lucrative media deals they've reached with the NBA, NFL (NFL Network and NFL RedZone), Major League Baseball and even the WWE.
I don't mean to single out ESPN. Trust and believe, however: the vast majority of media networks operate like this now in whatever it is that they cover -- sports, politics, the entertainment industry, etc. Call it the "bedfellow" method. Why risk getting blackballed from your industry when you could just fall in line and secure career longevity in doing so? These days, these outlets are reporting what their bedfellows want them to report -- and not much else.
This current landscape that exists where independent journalism is scarce, makes what Pablo Torre is doing within that landscape equal parts necessary & courageous.

Pablo Torre in 2025.
The soon-to-be 40-year-old Torre is a sportswriter, television host, podcaster, and journalist. He actually used to be a regular on ESPN; although he will still appear on the occasional Pardon The Interruption episode as a fill-in. Torre's claim to enhanced fame of late has been his award-winning, Meadowlark Media-produced podcast, Pablo Torre Finds Out.
Whatever comes to your mind when you hear the words "sports journalism," I can assure you that Torre's methods on 'Pablo Torre Finds Out' deviate significantly from your notions. Torre uses unique presentation, a quirky approach and a futuristic graphics package to break hard-hitting news stories in a modernly digestible way.

Pablo Torre, likely in the act of finding out something.
Torre describes PTFO as "silly meets smart." You know, my mother once told me to steer clear of anybody that self-proclaims themselves as "smart", as they're more than likely overcompensating or otherwise have a inflated sense of self-importance. Thankfully, at least as far as I'm concerned, Torre is the exception to that rule. I mean, he did graduate magna cum laude from Harvard.
Torre's podcast has tackled stories like transgender athletes, hidden NFL collusion and the nature of Hall-of-Fame football coach Bill Belichick (73) and his girlfriend (and manager?) Jordon Hudson's (24) relationship. And that was all before Torre's podcast was picked up by The New York Times' sports media platform, The Athletic.

Illustration by The Athletic. Read more here:
Little did we know, Torre had been preparing for this moment for months -- 7 months, to be exact. He knew he couldn't pull up to The Athletic empty-handed. He was deep into research all this time, cooking up something that would shake the sports media universe at its core... but what?
In sifting through over 3,400 pages of documents in the aforementioned 7-month period, Torre and his team found a potential fraud scandal so incendiary that it might set the 8th-most valuable NBA franchise ablaze pending further investigation.
Here's the deal: according to PTFO, Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard signed a $28 million endorsement deal with an environmental startup company, Aspiration.
What's the point? Professional athletes sign endorsement deals with various companies all the time, no?
Yes. The problem here, though, is that those companies usually aren't funded at-large by the player's team owner. And that's the case with Aspiration and Clippers owner / former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
That combination of facts can easily lead to this conclusion: The Clippers attempted to circumvent the NBA salary cap by handing Kawhi Leonard a no-show tree-planting job from a now-defunct company that Ballmer pumped a $50 million investment into.

Kawhi Leonard and Steve Ballmer in 2025. RINGO CHIU / ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hours following the publishing of Torre's report, the NBA announced an investigation into the Clippers' purported fraud and misconduct.
So: Torre's investigative reporting sparked immediate action from the NBA.
It also sparked action from the Recess Report.
Introducing the Recess Report Podcast, hosted by TRB's Liam Flynn as well, as myself, Joshua Umahi. We discussed how much trouble the Clippers could be in following Torre's podcast.
We also had a conversation about why what Pablo Torre is doing in today's journalistic landscape (or lack thereof) is so desperately needed.
Quick excerpt from me: I know it's been a while since sports media has seen REAL investigative reporting at a grand scale, but NO -- it is NOT "snitching."
Enjoy the podcast below! Feel free to rate and subscribe/follow as well. Available on all podcast platforms!