Michael Ndiweni Misquoted: Why The Media Must Do More to Protect Young Players

Michael Ndiweni Misquoted: Why The Media Must Do More to Protect Young Players

The prominence of the media within the modern remit of football is bordering on invasive.

Broadcasters are employing tactics to further entrench themselves in the behind-the-scenes culture, and media outlets are conducting intrusive interviews with players, which address everything from on-field performances to private life ongoings, at a rate which resembles clockwork.

Add in the incessant nature of social media and the heightened probability of virality that comes with it, and the power of those who supply us with coverage of the beautiful game is in many ways frightening.

As the saying goes (all thanks to Spiderman for this one): "With great power comes great responsibility." - and in theory, that should also be the case for the media.

Yet, we repeatedly see those tasked with correctly relaying stories to the general public let down both fans and, more importantly, players themselves.

Whether it be lousy journalism which incorrectly displays information, opinions which are quite frankly made purely to drum up as much chaos and controversy as possible, or players whose kindness to provide interviews is grossly taken advantage of purely for personal gain – football media has been creating more problems than it solves for some time now.

And it is the latter of those three evils which will be used as the subject for this, likely scathing, article.

Michael Ndiweni: The Case Study

The substance behind this piece comes from an article released earlier in the week by the Chronicle, a local Northeast-based newspaper, which centred around an interview conducted with former Newcastle youngster Michael Ndiweni.

Michael was released by the club at the back end of last season before dropping into non-league to regain some confidence and this summer jetting off to America to attend university on a football scholarship.

His story is one of great substance and meaning, one which any media outlet would understandably be delighted to get their hands on – especially with an in-depth interview to accompany it.

But rather than the respectful, insightful manner which would have befitted the story, the Chronicle platformed it under what was essentially false pretences with the title detailing a quote which Ndiweni never actually said.

The title read (the quote marks are real): 'Newcastle binned me after my Premier League debut – now I'm rebuilding my career in America.'

Conveniently, following Michael publicly (and rightly) calling out the false information on his Instagram, the Chronicle has changed the title to something which doesn't include untrue quotes – unfortunately for them, that doesn't mean they get away with it…

Now, granted, this article hasn't been formulated purely to call out the Chronicle's mistake – after all, making them does come with the territory of being a big media outlet, and they get criticised more than those less in the spotlight.

And, whilst the correction of the mistake is applaudable, the fact it was made in the first place says a lot about the carelessness of the media space.

More Must Be Done

The British media has a track record of villainising players, and while Michael's case doesn't exactly qualify as villainising, it is the negative light it portrays him in which could have had drastic consequences if it landed in the wrong hands.

On a more nationwide scale, take Jude Bellingham as an example.

A young, extremely talented footballer with bags of personality who is repeatedly torn down and condemned for his actions whenever they aren't subjectively deemed to be acceptable.

BREAKING: Jude Bellingham loses patience and drags click-bait merchants into daylight.
“I’ve ignored too many of these lies for too long, hoping the truth would speak for itself. But honestly? This is absolute nonsense.”
“I genuinely feel for people who hang on every word of… pic.twitter.com/3eN8uAfAfT

— Law+Decoded (@GLat_2000) January 13, 2026

And that is just a mere few cases of hundreds, if not thousands, of the media antagonising, creating scandals from thin air, and blowing things out of proportion.

You would think, by this point, with all the forthcoming awareness for mental health and psychological issues that can arise from being in such a bright spotlight, that the media may have learnt their lesson – but, of course, that is not the case.

If journalism continues to tread down this monumentally distasteful path of discarding the feelings and implications a lack of due diligence could have, not only on a player's career but also on their quality of life, then we might as well discontinue sports reporting altogether, as its purpose is no longer beneficial.

The Personality Epidemic

Not only is it exceptionally worrying for those like Michael Ndiweni, who are implicated by horrendous showings of journalistic practice, but it is also highly hypocritical and contradictory to be so hell-bent on shaming them.

We are constantly crying out for professional athletes to show more personality and be more personable with the media rather than giving surface-level, media-trained answers.

Mario Balotelli has a strong personality; I think few coaches manage to get the best out of him on the field. pic.twitter.com/hautxSyrBi

— Denis (@Denis019109) January 12, 2026

What do we expect to happen if the access that is given is constantly abused and taken for granted, with absolutely no upside for the professionals involved…? It's a recipe for disaster.

And it isn't like the effect of these negative framings of stories is hidden from those who publish them; in fact, you will often see other media outlets calling out the unacceptable behaviour of their counterparts when they literally do the same things themselves.

Why Ndiweni is a Damning Example

Ndiweni's situation specifically is one of the most concerning in recent times.

Mainly because his status isn't on the same level as those who are established Premier League stars; in fact, the article was about how he is looking to rebuild after being released from the professional game.

This means that the Chronicle fabricated a quote in a piece with a young player who isn't sheltered with the layers of PR protection that the top-level pros get, for what appears to be nothing more than a pot-stirring marketing ploy to get more eyes on their work.

It was with complete disregard to the players' emotions and feelings, especially a player who is much more susceptible to any adverse consequences that may come from people seeing the headline – and was at high risk of being irreversibly damaging to the public opinion of the player.

It marked a step further over the line from even those that target the professionals, with someone much more vulnerable implicated.

And was quite frankly one of the most abhorrent showings of journalistic practice in modern times – all for a few cheap clicks.

And yet, perhaps the most incriminating realisation that came from this story is that this isn't a surprise anymore; in fact, it is expected.

Sports journalism in this country has been falling further each year, and we have reached a point where there is no other option but change.

Until we can correctly and admirably report on football without endangering those that are being written or spoken about, sports media will continue to be a failure.

The unfortunate part is, there is no sign of said change coming to the fore.

We have to do better, and it has to be now.