UCLA’s Jim Mora Kicks Media Out Of Practice, LAT Thankfully Pulls Its Reporters

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

If there’s one thing observant UCLA and USC fans know about the Los Angeles media, it’s that they’re a bunch of attention-seeking divas looking for the next big scandal or story when there isn’t one.

Indeed, everyone but tried-and-true beat writers — let’s include Miguel Melendez of the L.A. Daily News and Edward Lewis of BSR, both solid beat dudes who are also pretty hilarious — has heckled Jim Mora about bland-ass questions with zero substance. The number of times that USC can come up in a conversation — or in some cases, the emergence of Brett Hundley — can only be tolerated so much.

Of course, that wasn’t Mora’s concern when he threw out the media from practice — although he’s subtly tangled with those reporters before.

No, Mora threw the media out because camera crews were setting up in restricted areas on the field, namely ESPN and KTLA camera crews. Also thrown out were UCLA’s sports information department employees, likely because they were a tad too “incompetent” (as Mora put it) to keep the camera crews out.

And, probably as a result, the LA Times’ sports section implemented a new policy:

God. Is. Good.

Now, media members won’t normally tell you how relieved they are or how troll-y the dudes can be (why shut down future job opportunities) but these LA Times folks can be a real pain in the ass.

T.J. Simers has constantly bashed UCLA for seemingly no reason other than having an ax to grind while Chris Foster, though more moderate, has been an absolute douche while covering the team. Both act as if covering UCLA football is a labor, so I’m personally glad that they’re willfully leaving. It’s for the best, because they blow.

Of course, people nationally will chastise Mora for throwing out the media, but this is less a result of the media reporting certain things than it is frustration with those camera crews setting up where they know they shouldn’t while the sports information department employees allowed it. It’s not as if the media isn’t allowed back in the next day, but you can’t expect Mora to throw out media members individually.

We know, we know: We’re being super fan-y about this and defending Mora more than the normal, non-UCLA fan would, but it’s no secret that the vast majority of the L.A. media is super bitchy. Those U$C fans will also ask how this is any different than Lane Kiffin throwing out Scott Wolf; the key difference is that Wolf was not interfering with practices, and that Kiffin singled out a reporter rather than sending out a general statement giving any sort of warnings.

The difference is night and day, and we hope that the Los Angeles media gets its shit together, possibly in the mold of the aforementioned Miguel Melendez and Edward Lewis.

Either way, this is a time to rejoice: The LAT is gone from UCLA practices and hopefully that’s the last we’ve heard from ’em.