Radio’s Darren Scott lashes out at journalist ‘bottom-feeders’ over James Small story
Former South African rugby player and Springbok winger, James Small.
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Radio personality Darren Scott took to Facebook to slam journalists involved in reporting over the weekend that Springbok legend James Small was rushed to hospital after collapsing naked in a brothel on the night of his death, in a post that has since gone viral.
Singling out Rapport editor Waldimar Pelser, as well as Hendrik Hancke, who broke the initial story in the newspaper and media conglomerate Media24, which published it, Scott describes Small as “a vulnerable, flawed yet genuine, passionate, honest legend who was an inspiration to his family, friends, teammates and his country”, lashing out at the authors of the report for being “intent of bringing down – for the sake of selling a few extra editions of that pamphlet you call a newspaper”.
He refers to the story in Rapport as a “disgusting piece of so-called ‘journalism'”, accuses its authors of “deliberately” choosing to “forego any humanity” in writing it and describes the story as an attempt to “forever tarnish the legacy of a great man.”
Scott, also known as “Just Plain Darren“, who currently hosts Bloemfontein station OFM‘s drive time show as well as the breakfast show on Cape Town’s Bok Radio, is no stranger to finding himself at the receiving end of negative media reporting himself – resigning from Jacaranda FM back in 2011 after calling a colleague the k-word.
The report he objected to in the Afrikaans newspaper revealed that Small was discovered, naked and unconscious at “adult entertainment” venue The Harem club in Bedfordview, before being rushed to hospital on the night he passed away.
The publication reported that a judicial inquest had been opened into the circumstances surrounding 50-year-old Small’s death.
Anonymous sources told Rapport that a woman arrived at around midnight at Life Bedford Gardens hospital with a man she said was a client of her club, calling staff to bring a hospital bed as he was too heavy to be placed in a wheelchair.
Nurses reportedly arrived to find a naked Small.
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