Patriots 'vs. Humbled' QB Mac Jones? Apology Issued for Erroneous Boston Globe Report

“Hey everybody, just want to acknowledge that I made a mistake,'' tweets the reporter who erroneously reported on a Mac Jones conflict with the Patriots.

An assertion made this week that second-year QB Mac Jones and the New England Patriots are somehow in conflict - with Jones in need of being "humbled'' - has been walked back, with the Boston Globe apologizing after having been duped by a social-media prankster.

“Hey everybody, just want to acknowledge that I made a mistake Wednesday on @WEEI,” tweeted Ben Volin. “I should have not spoken of the DM without vetting it first. No excuses, It won’t happen again. I appreciate the feedback and comments I’ve received.”

"The feedback and the comments'' are, understandably, drawing ire directed at the Globe's Volin, who remarked on WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show (and before that on NBC Sports Boston) that Jones “needed to be humbled'' after success - including, Volin asserted, "attending a tony prep school, and then Alabama and won the national championship, and (then he) came to New England and went 10-7, everyone’s calling him the greatest thing since sliced bread'' - created a need for him to be "humbled a little bit.''

Volin also claimed “There’s definitely a lot of smoke there to the Mac Jones and him not vibing with the coaching staff,'' and maybe most troublesome - because again, the entirety of his reporting was based on a random message he received by a nameless Twitter person via DM - he claimed others "in the building'' share this view.

It was when Barstool Sports broke the story of the DM ruse that Volin apologized.

Jones and rookie QB Bailey Zappe are now both available to coach Bill Belichick as possible starters, with Jones maybe taking the leap for this Monday's game vs. the Bears.

It is worth noting that talk-show host Hill did question Volin live on the air about the report.

“So somebody, not just a random, somebody reached out and said that Mac has an attitude problem and everybody knows it?” asked Hill. “Sounds like nonsense to me, honestly.”

Volin replied, “Why is that nonsense?”

And of course, as the surely embarrassed reporter knows - and has now been reminded: It's "nonsense'' because an anonymous Twitter guy is not a "source.''

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