Greg Olsen accuses media of putting "words in my mouth" about Malik Nabers

After Sunday’s win over the Eagles, Giants receiver Malik Nabers had some things to say about things Fox’s Greg Olsen had to say about Nabers during the game.On Monday, Olsen had some things to say about how the New York Post and USA Today characterized the things he said.Olsen accused those publications of making up quotes and putting “worlds [sic] in my mouth.”In order to avoid any doubt about what Olsen (and others on the Fox broadcast) said — and didn’t say — about Nabers, we went to the video (and audio).Early in the fourth quarter of the Giants-Eagles game, after Giants quarterback J.J. McCarthy threw a pass behind an open Nabers who was running right to left, the Fox cameras showed Nabers waving an arm in apparent frustration. Said Fox’s Joe Davis, regarding Nabers: “His body language has been terrible today.”“It’s just not good,” Olsen said.Olsen revisited the subject a little bit later.“You brought up Malik Nabers,” Olsen said, “and you never know exactly what’s being said. It’s easy for us to sit here and interpret body language. When we asked [offensive coordinator] Matt Nagy about him, he said, ‘Listen, he’s very vocal. When he didn’t get the ball to start the year, he let everyone know it.’ He said, ‘Me and Malik have a good understanding right now. What’s perceived as being negative, what’s perceived as being a distraction, I think we both have an understanding of each other that allows it to coexist.’ And just certainly is something to keep an eye on.”Not long after that, the booth threw to Fox sideline reporter Pam Oliver for more on Nabers.“Yeah, you guys talk about his body language,” Oliver said. “I can tell you a little more about his mindset. I talked to him. And he told me, ‘I just demand excellence out of everybody around me. Anybody that has a hand in my career. Because you only get one shot. It’s your life, it’s your career.’ It’s fueled by a great sense of urgency in that hard-fought return to the field from that knee injury. Nabers said — told me, ‘I’m not going out there running all these routes not to get the ball.’”Said Davis in response, “I totally get it. But when your teammate scores the go-ahead touchdown and you still have that look? Not great.”“Yeah, listen,” Olsen said, “there’s a fine line. I played with a lot of really good wide receivers. A lot really good players. There’s never been a great wide receiver who hasn’t demanded the ball. That kind of comes with the territory. There is a few exceptions to guys that are just a different personality and a different approach.“But there is a very fine line between being demanding, being a competitor, and all those great things. That’s great. It just can never cross that it feels like it takes away from the success of your teammates. So when your teammate catches a wide-open touchdown, you need to be the happiest guy on the field. You can’t still be worried about your targets. So that’s the fine line. He’s a talented, young, really good player. He’s just got to keep it in check.”That same drive included a third-down throw to Nabers in the end zone. Nabers couldn’t make the reception, leading to a field goal. “Listen, you want to demand the ball — you can’t throw that ball any better,” Olsen said after Nabers failed to catch the pass. “That’s a touchdown. You’re a premier player in this league. You’ve got an opportunity there, you’ve got to catch it.”That’s the full extent of everything that was said on the Fox broadcast during the relevant exchange. The problem is that too many outlets don’t type quotes precisely. Some will mash pieces of different sentences together. Even if the overall message is the same (and, frankly, it seems as if Davis and Olsen were being critical of Nabers, with Davis being more pointed than Olsen), the absence of accuracy opens the door for criticism of the message.In this case, Olsen never called Nabers a “bad teammate.” However, Olsen explained that there’s a “fine line” between “being demanding, being a competitor, and all those great things” and “tak[ing] away from the success of your teammates.” Which basically is one of the hallmarks of being a bad teammate.That’s why all outlets that are going to pass along quotes made on broadcasts should strive to get the quotes right. It eliminates any ambiguity as to what was said — and it prevents a subsequent attack regarding the accuracy of the quote. Especially when the accurate quote tends to lead to the same place.