That tweet is based largely on hearsay and not really appropriate for a beat reporter to throw out there, IMO. Did he ask Goard if it were true? I doubt it - he's just repeating what the coaching staff told him...which in itself was inappropriate. I was told that the situation was quite different - that Goard wanted to attend a class and travel to Cleveland a day late.
do you know for sure that Akeley's tweet is based only on hearsay? is it really inappropriate to share info about a former player two and half years after the fact? do you know for sure that Arkley didn't speak to Goard directly? if not, do you know for sure that Arkley heard it from the coaching staff? how is Arkley's claim that Goard asked if his attendance in Cleveland was mandatory different from your claim that he asked if could have an option of attending at his own convenience? how do we know that your claims are not mostly hearsay? what is Ebola? where do babies come from? so many questions..