Eagles eject beat writer from press box after noise dispute

A PR staffer reportedly told writers to be quiet, and one took exception.

Eagles beat writer Jeff McLane was ejected from the press box during Sunday’s game following a dispute with the team’s public relations department, according to fellow reporters who were present for the incident.

According to Les Bowen of the Philadelphia Daily News, McLane, a writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer, was one of a group of writers that was asked by a PR staffer to quiet down. McLane took exception and had a discussion with the staffer to discuss the incident, and was booted around 10 or 15 minutes later by the team’s senior vice president Anne Gordon.

They told McLane he was ejected for violating the fan code of conduct, and writers who disagreed with the move were threatened with ejection.

Here’s more info from Philly.com:

McLane said that during the game, Zach Groen, an Eagles public relations coordinator who sits in the press box, told journalists sitting in McLane's row that they were speaking too loudly while debating a penalty in the third quarter.

McLane said he and the other reporters snapped back at Groen. Gordon said McLane told Groen to "shut up," though McLane said he did not use those words.

The writers around McLane continued to tweet about the incident afterward, displeased that he was forced to leave the stadium.

– Kenny Ducey