ESPN airs fake LeBron James Instagram post following Lakers-Sixers game

LeBron James didn’t take the court during the Sixers' 121-105 win over the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday night, but that didn’t stop the NBA superstar from making it onto ESPN.

Following the game, Sportscenter @ Night anchor Neil Everett highlighted an Instagram post by NBA star Anthony Davis featuring a comment supposedly from an apparently brazen James, who joked that the New Orleans Pelicans power forward would soon be wearing purple and gold.

It comes on the heels of the NBA issuing a warning back in December about the league’s anti-tampering policy after James shared a meal with Davis and told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin that it “would be amazing” if the Pelicans star brought his talents to Los Angeles.

“Look what we found on Insta-face: LeBron James giving thumbs up to Anthony Davis’s wardrobe, and at the same time James basically giving the middle finger to the NBA. Sheesh!" Everett said early Wednesday morning, highlighting the supposed comment.

Unfortunately for Everett and ESPN, the Instagram comment was a fake screenshot created by @sreekyshooter, a photographer from the Bay Area known for his NBA jokes and parodies. Sreekar took a bit of a victory lap after his fake screenshot made it on air.

Later in the broadcast, Everett acknowledged that the post was fake, adding that it was the work of "Some kid with way too much time on his hands. You got me dude!”

KDKA, the local CBS affiliate in Pittsburgh, has fired an employee for labeling New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady a “known cheater” in a chyron during the network’s 4 p.m. newscast Monday.

“While fans are entitled to have personal opinions, we have a journalistic responsibility to provide unbiased reporting,” KDKA said in a statement. "The graphic that appeared Monday violated our news standards. The individual who created the graphic no longer works for KDKA-TV.”

Fans in Pittsburgh are still angry over the “Spygate” scandal, which played a role in the Patriots’ win over the Steelers during the 2001 AFC championship game, according to details revealed in 2015 by ESPN reporters Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham:

At least one former Eagles staffer is quoted in the story, telling ESPN he believed Belichick’s willingness to cheat cost the Birds a fair shot at winning Super Bowl XXXIX, pointing out it was the only explanation for the Patriots being completely prepared for a rarely used dime defense the Eagles deployed during the second quarter of the game.

"I remember through the course of the game Jim [Johnson] saying, ‘They’re getting our signals. They know when we’re blitzing … try to hide it.’ I remember distinctly thinking. ‘I don’t think so Jim, just concentrate on calling the game,’ " former Eagles linebackers coach Steve Spagnuolo recalled last year during an appearance on 97.5 The Fanatic. “In hindsight, he was right. When you go back and look at that tape, it was evident to us. … We believe that Tom [Brady] knew when we were pressuring him because he certainly got the ball out pretty quick.”

• Here’s an interesting moment from last night’s match-up between the Winnipeg Jets and the Boston Bruins. After Bruins rookie Trent Frederic got into a brawl with Jets forward Brandon Tanev, NESN cut to the crowd to show his ecstatic parents — Bob and Gaye Frederic — high-fiving each other.

• The final numbers are in, and television ratings for the NFL Pro Bowl were so-so. According to Sports Media Watch, the Pro Bowl was watched by 8.23 million viewers across ESPN, ABC and Disney XD, which is down 4 percent from last season. Viewership for the often-mocked event has declined seven of the past eight years (just like many other things on television), but since it’s on par with the ratings for both the MLB All-Star Game and the NBA All-Star Game, don’t expect the NFL to end it anytime soon.