Warriors Beat Writer Rusty Simmons Suspended Over Plagiarism

Monday afternoon, I received a press release from Sam Singer, noted public relations figure who is representing Mission Bay Alliance, a group opposing the Golden State Warriors’ new arena at Mission Bay.

He pointed out that an article written by Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle on the Warriors’ formal purchase of the Mission Bay site from Salesforce was copied, word-for-word from a press release on the Warriors’ site.

I didn’t think much of it, as it seemed like a desperation ploy by the group as the Warriors move closer and closer to getting their dream arena built in San Francisco. Plus, Simmons has been on the Warriors’ beat for a while, and I considered him a credible, respected writer.

But on Tuesday, I came across a Deadspin article pointing out five examples of Simmons lifting from various press releases and posting them under his byline.

Turns out the Columbia Journalism Review looked into the matter and got comments from the Chronicle’s editor-in-chief, Audrey Cooper. Cooper told CJR that Simmons was in a “haste” and “didn’t put enough critical thinking into whether this was the right procedure.”

Simmons is currently suspended without pay pending an investigation, and given Deadspin’s revelations of several other plagiarized samples, this is a sticky situation for the Chronicle’s beat writer.

Simmons’ name has been taken off the article he wrote and replaced with “Chronicle staff report.” There’s an editor’s note that reads:

"A previous version of this story was a lightly edited press release issued by the Golden State Warriors. The story is now written by a Chronicle staffer."

For what it’s worth, Simmons told Deadspin that he had been “muzzled” and would explain the situation when his suspension was lifted.

Perhaps Cooper was right that Simmons was in a haste and made an honest mistake. But the multiple occurrences certainly raises questions as to what Simmons thought he was doing, blatantly copying and pasting from other sources.

Simmons has been with the Chronicle since 2002, taking over the Warriors beat in 2009.