Sadly, it isn't embarrassing for them, it's the new norm of low level journalism - not only in footy, but across a lot of the mainstream media now. Look at the sensationalist headlines around the current Hawks story in the Herald Sun: there's a cleverly worded disclaimer in each of the pieces, but the rest of it is pure conjecture, that may have little or no truth to it. Our standards, as a society, seem to have slipped so low as to what we consume media-wise, that the muck rakers and bulltish artists are no longer held to account.