“Who’s he anyway?” Michael Lombardi RIPS Dov Kleiman after his comments about Antonio Pierce were taken out of context

Lombardi accused Kleiman of spinning a narrative by taking his words out of context.


“Who’s he anyway?” Michael Lombardi RIPS Dov Kleiman after his comments about Antonio Pierce were taken out of context

Michael Lombardi clashes with Dov Kleiman (Via Imago/ X)

In the last few years, there has been a rise in NFL reporting/ aggregator accounts on social media. One such account is known as Dov Kleiman, who seems to have a habit of getting caught in a controversy. Amidst this, former NFL executive Michael Lombardi is now clashing with Keliman for allegedly taking his words about the Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce out of context to spin a narrative.

During a recent episode of ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show, Lombardi sounded off on Kleiman and directly attacked him. Lombardi claimed that Kleiman took two separate instances and combined them into one to make the news sensational.

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Who is he anyway? Is he just some strange cat somewhere in a basement in Israel? …I’m going to fight back, I’m going to fight back. I’m not going to let that guy put words in my mouth. I mean, he took two separate instances and combined them into one.                                                                  
Michael Lombardi said

As Lombardi went on a rant against Kleiman, McAfee also chimed in to say that his show has also been a victim of Kleiman in the past. McAfee claimed Kleiman has posted several clips from his show out of context.

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Nonetheless, Lombardi’s vicious rant came after his take on Antonio Pierce went viral. Kleiman took quotes from two separate episodes of Lombardi’s podcast and presented them as one. In one episode, Lombardi talked about Pierce openly taunting division rivals Kansas City Chiefs. Lombardi told Pierce to “Shut the f**k up” about being too confident.

In another episode, Lombardi again criticized Pierce for talking too much. He insinuated Pierce doesn’t understand what “The Raider Way” is.

Dov Kleiman posted out of context quotes from Michael Lombardi about Antonio Pierce

The NFL journalist Dov Kleiman posted two quotes from Antonio Pierce as one, which led to Michael Lombardi getting blasted on social media. Kleiman used the exact words of Lombardi, but the way it was presented made it seem much worse.

Michael Lombardi and Antonio Pierce
Michael Lombardi and Antonio Pierce (via IMAGO/ X)

Especially, Lombardi telling Pierce to “Shut the f**c up” led to get him branded as a racist. Kleiman could’ve avoided by following standard practice for quote transcription and using an ellipsis (…) between the sentences. Nonetheless, later in the Pat McAfee Show, Lombardi explained the context behind him telling the Raiders HC to shut up.

They’ve won one game, you know? And that was great. But, like I was just saying to him, in a way, ‘Look, just keep it quiet, let them take you as nobody.'
Michael Lombardi said

Lombardi is insinuating he only told the Raiders HC to shut up about his game plans and work in silence. But, he claims Kleiman’s post made it seem much worse. The former NFL exec. claims he will ‘fight back’ against Kleiman but didn’t mention anything about how he is going to do that.

As for Kleiman, he is really from Israel. There are only two photos of him available, which he gave to The Post during a 2023 interview. He doesn’t do interviews or exclusives and only shares news from other NFL insiders.

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