Sources: Sometimes Sources Are Just Flacks

At 3:12 p.m., I (and presumably many, many other people who write about basketball) received a PR blast in my inbox:

Later today, the Portland Trail Blazers will announce a multi-year partnership with Performance Health, parent company of Biofreeze, beginning with the reveal of the team’s first-ever patch logo on their 2018-2019 jerseys. The jersey patch is one part of a comprehensive partnership, which is designed to strengthen the team’s performance on the court and positively impact the Portland community.

[...]

You’ll see how Biofreeze is weaving into the fabric of Rip City in the ice block stunt video, which is embargoed until 4:00pm ET / 1:00pm PT today, along with still images of the jersey and the official news release (to be distributed later today). At that time, please feel free to share with your audiences.

If you have any questions about the partnership, the reveal or would like to speak with Michael McGoohan [emphasis ours], chief marketing officer of Performance Health, please let me know.

Just four minutes before the embargo expired, a tweet emerged, citing only “Sources.”

Just one minute before the embargo lifted, the newsbreaker, Shams Charania of The Athletic, emphasized the “unique and significant” nature of this partnership.

Sources can be sources, but sources aren’t always sources. Got it?