"... Did Not Meet ESPN Standards For Original Language": ESPN Finally Updates Plagiarized Posts
It has been 148 days since we first informed you of Lynn Hoppes's copy-and-pasting habits. And dear reader, it's over. All it took for ESPN to acknowledge the widespread plagiarism in its archives was for the company's news honcho, John Walsh, to float a rumor in front of a class of journalism students that I was involved in some sort of love triangle with Hoppes. ( No, really. That's what happened.) Shortly after that, I was informed by ESPN's PR department that the stories would be updated.
The final tally? Fifteen stories that borrowed from Wikipedia have been affected: 12 were deleted altogether; three got a rewrite and a nasty little tagline that fairly vibrates with suppressed annoyance.
This post has been amended to remove passages that did not meet ESPN standards for original language.
The three stories that got that tagline:
And which stories have just been outright removed? Those amazingly dumb birthday posts, a Hoppes staple. Here they are, saved for posterity via Google cache:
There are still three stories sitting in the archives that lifted language from press releases but whatever. This is a start.
- MLB Best Bets Today: Reds vs Brewers, White Sox vs Guardians, Rangers vs Tigers Picks
- World Cup Best Bets Today: Top Picks for France and Mexico
- MLB Picks Today: Best Bets for Nationals vs. Red Sox and Dodgers vs. A's
- Canada vs. South Africa Predictions: Best Bets for the World Cup Round of 32
- Wimbledon 2026 Predictions: Best Bets for the Men's Draw
- UFC Baku Picks: Three Bets to Target on Saturday's Main Card
- College Football Championship Odds: Four Value Bets for 2026
