Taking quotes out of context is probably one of my biggest peeves about the media. This most often happens when it comes to sports.

Or maybe it happens with all types of news and media, but sports is the one that I’m most exposed to.

The one story over the summer that really got to me was one that surrounded professional basketball player Josh Smith, now of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers.

Smith previously played for the Detroit Pistons and signed to the Houston Rockets midway through the 2014–15 NBA season. His contract was a one-year deal worth $2 million. Fast forward to this past offseason where he signed with the Clippers for the veteran’s minimum deal worth roughly $1.5 million.

At the Clippers’ introductory press conference, Smith answered a question about why he signed for the vet minimum and responded with the most monotonous voice and said: “It wasn’t about the money because of the Detroit situation. But at the end of the day, you know, I do have a family. So, it is going to be a little harder on me this year.”

The Detroit situation he referred to was that he would be receiving just under $5 million from the Pistons because of the contract he signed with them a few years ago.

This simple quote in context is Smith saying that it’s not about receiving the vet minimum that would make it hard on him, but having to be away from his family or having to move his family again being that Los Angeles would be his third different team in less than a year.

Smith even later clarified that that was the case. But, okay, maybe he didn’t make that clear that he was talking about his family, but it also wasn’t clear that he was complaining about not getting enough money.

Except the problem with that was that the media decided to latch on the latter by claiming that he was whining about “only” making $1.5 million this year.

This story blew up. It was originally “reported” by the Detroit Free Press but then referenced by almost any and every sports media source.

What happened to having a code of ethics when it comes to news reporting?

I get it. In today’s digital world of almost instant reachability and virality, views and clicks is what helps media companies make money. But why has “accurate” reporting been compromised just to gain more views?

I guess money just makes the world go round, especially in an industry where layoffs and budget cuts happen more often than Smith can hit a 3-point shot.

A big theme in education is trying to get students to be critical thinkers. So the next time you see an outrageous quote in a tweet or a headline, make sure to do your part and challenge that by actually looking into the context of what’s going on, rather than just believing what a reporter decided to put out there.