The San Francisco 49ers are off to another great start this year, sitting at 5-0 atop the NFC West. If the season ended today, the NFL would be out a lot of revenue but Brock Purdy would probably be MVP. Kyle Shanahan’s ability to sidestep injury after injury remains a modern marvel.
In short, things are going great in the Bay Area. In fact, the only sign of noticeable friction is coming via a burgeoning media beef.
MORE: Brock Purdy continues to set the bar for ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ with latest stat
Grant Cohn of 49ers on SI laid into San Francisco Standard reporter David Lombardi last Sunday via a livestream from Lumen Field.
At the heart of his complaint was journalistic ethics and Cohn doesn’t much care for Lombardi letting his fandom show. And all the hugging.
“It’s bad enough that he’s a fan of the team that he covers, but he thinks he’s on the team,” Cohn said. “So, for example, after a game, you might hear some of us interviewing players and the coach at the postgame press conference. You know who never asks a question? David Lombardi.
“You know why? Because he’s not in there. You know why? Because he’s in the locker room. You know what he’s doing? Hugging the players and congratulating them as if they won together. ‘Hey man, great going. How does it feel?’ He thinks he’s on the team, and it … does bother me.”
Grant Cohn and David Lombardi should have a boxing match 💀 This is insane… https://t.co/toHZdbDmMN
— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) October 16, 2026
“This f—ing guy pretends to be a journalist and takes shilling to the next level. … It bothers me, man,” Cohn added. “Where is David? Ask a question. Oh, he’s not here because he’s hugging the players. Man, that would bug me if I was a player. ‘Man, don’t touch me. Don’t congratulate me.’”
It is not unusual at all for two people on the same beat to not mesh well together. It is not all that usual for one of those parties to unload with a lengthy video detailing all the problems they have with the other person. The ball is now in Lomabrdi’s court if he wants to film his own diatribe from his perspective. It’s already quite messy so it’s not like it can get much messier.
Having hung up my Sports Journalism ombudsman jersey a few years ago, I am very reluctant to make a ruling here. It does seem that at the heart of the matter is a perceived lack of professionalism. But one could argue that airing out all this laundry is also unprofessional.
It promises to be a tense room the next time both reporters are in the same tight confines.
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