Fox News attack on Tim Walz for helping struggling student instantly backfires

Fox News' latest attempt to churn up negative stories about Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz backfired immediately this week.

The Fox News story in question dealt with Walz's tenure as a high-school football coach and featured the headline, "Tim Walz allegedly told high school football player struggling with crime and alcohol to keep playing."

The implication of the headline was that Walz didn't really do anything to help the struggling student and only cared about keeping him on the field to win football games.

However, an interview with the former student, a man named Dan Clement, showed that Walz encouraged him to continue playing because he thought it would give him a positive outlet away from alcohol and criminal activities that could help him straighten out his life.

"The caring attention he gave, that positive support can pull you through really dark times in your life," said Clement. "And he was right. I was wrong. And later in life, when I continued to do that, when I continued to trust other people who love me, then it led my life in this beautiful direction. Just like it did back then."

ALSO READ: Mike Johnson’s running for his life – and possibly Trump’s – this election

Given this, many of Fox News' liberal critics were quick to pounce on the network for its negative framing of a positive story.

"Walz scandals are absolutely hilarious," observed data analyst Darrell Owens. "'Did teen Walz go to China a few months later than he claimed?' 'Did Walz date a girl when he was 25?' 'Did Walz tell a struggling teenager to keep trying?' Its over for Walz."

"This is a story about Walz showing faith in a student and nurturing their least destructive hobby (risk of CTE notwithstanding)," wrote Vox's Eric Levitz. "Lot of blue checks presenting it as the opposite."

"Scandal: Tim Walz revealed as small-town coach with big heart, whose tough love forever changed the life of struggling young man," joked progressive commentator Will Stancil.

"My dad did something very much like this when he was coaching basketball, back in the day," wrote law student Ian Russell. "It’s one of the things I love and respect most about him. Somehow Fox thinks this is a scandal."

"This is extremely damning," wrote journalist Jesse Singal sarcastically. "I can't believe Tim Walz didn't instead counsel the young man to quit football and drunk drive into a quarry."