Chris Arnold has been uncharacteristically quiet. A usually prolific tweeter his account has been dormant for 10 days, and his voice has been missing from The GBag Nation, the midday show he co-hosts on 105.3 The Fan.
CBS Radio hasn't commented publicly on Arnold's absence, but it's no accident that it came immediately after he was caught shamelessly plagiarizing a lengthy piece on Tony Romo.
This wasn't a case where he borrowed a phrase or two and forgot to throw in proper attribution. He cribbed entire paragraphs, more than a dozen, but who's counting? (Answer: Scott Kacsmar, the freelance football writer who penned the original post.)
See also: Chris Arnold, Mavs Emcee and Radio Host, Completely Plagiarized a Tony Romo Article
CBS hasn't exactly cracked the whip. Best we can tell, Arnold's punishment for blatantly stealing the work of another writer and passing it off as his own is a week's vacation. He's back on the air today with the rest of the GBaggers.
Recently departed Fan host Richie Whitt predicted as much last week
"Easy for anyone with a journalism background to call for his firing...But this again proves that sports radio is more about entertainment than information," Whitt writes. "At a newspaper, Chris would be fired. On the radio, he gets a slap on the wrist."
So far at least, the public response from Arnold has consisted of a handful of tweets buttering Kacsmar up ("u sir, are greatness") and inviting him on the radio "to give your your props." The Fan has merely pulled the offending article from the CBS website.
A public admission of guilt and apology is probably in order. Giving Kacsmar Arnold's salary for the week he sat out would be a noble gesture as well.
