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David Lombardi

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David Lombardi (born May 5, 1988), is an American sports journalist and commentator. He covers the National Football League's San Francisco 49ers for the The San Francisco Standard. Before joining The Standard he worked at ESPN and The Athletic (the sports section of The New York Times).

Education

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Lombardi graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor's degree in 2010, and received a Masters in Broadcasting from Boston University in 2011.[1]

Career

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A native of Visalia, California, Lombardi started his career covering Stanford sports for KZSU campus radio, serving as its Sports Director from 2006 until 2010, while an undergraduate, and covering Stanford football games.[2]

After receiving his Master's degree in broadcasting, Lombardi began his career at 95.7 The Game, while simultaneously working as a sideline reporter on a freelance basis for stations affiliated with the Comcast Network and Joined the Stanford Football Pregame Show on KNBR, as well as a general freelancer covering Stanford football.[3] [4]

In September 2014, he was hired by ESPN as a writer, pundit and on air-analyst for college football. In 2017, Lombardi was let go during a major layoff at ESPN [5]and began covering the San Francisco 49ers for The Athletic.

Lombardi made his first appearance (representing his outlet, The Athletic) on the San Francisco 49ers official podcast, You've Got Mail, in 2020.[6]

One of Lombardi’s first investigative jobs was to cover the 2018 misdemeanor drugs charges and the later felony domestic violence case surrounding the 49er’s Reuben Foster in 2018, the latter of which was ultimately closed. [7]

Since 2021, Lombardi also serves as a lecturer at the College of Marin, teaching classes about writing for sports media, and using camera technology and social media as part of reporting.[8]

In September of 2024, Lombardi had left The Athletic to join The San Francisco Standard. In moving to the Standard, he was joined by fellow Athletic journalist Tim Kawakami.[9]

Reception

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In 2012, Lombardi was listed as one of the top 20 newscasters covering college sports in North America by the Sportcasters Talent Agency.[10]

In June 2022, Lombardi received attention for being one of the pundits that correctly predicted that the 49ers Deebo Samuel would re-sign to the 49ers while Jimmy Garoppolo was on the roster. He provided frequent first-hand updates on the health status of the players.[11][12]

Lombardi’s most controversial prediction which proved true occurred in 2021. He predicted the 49ers would choose Trey Lance and not Mac Jones as their quarterback pick. He was credited by SFGate as being one of three reporters to make the correct prediction, as the overwhelming majority believed Jones would receive the nod.[13]

In May 2024, Lombardi's 'data-driven' approach was analyzed by pundit Sauvik Banerjee. Banerjee devoted an article to Lombardi's methodology behind the determination that Brock Purdy is a stronger quarterback than Jordan Love.[14]

He was also profiled in an episode of the Paper Trail podcast in 2024.[15]

David Lombardi's work was analyzed in a January 2024 piece by Eric Ting of SFGate. Ting took issue with Lombardi for praising Brock Purdy excessively. Ting stated that "It might seem dramatic to blame a single writer for an entire ecosystem of takes. But Lombardi has become the conductor of the out-of-control Purdy hype train, and he drives the train in a manner that’s downright offensive to neutral observers."[16] A different SFGate journalist, Gabe Fernandez, had previously criticized Lombardi, in an article devoted to him, for apparently using incorrect statistics to back up his pro-Purdy arguments.[17] However, in September 2024, Purdy himself cited the same metrics Lombardi had previously mentioned and encouraged the media to fact check the numbers. A fact check from radio station KNBR verified the numbers and Fernandez wrote this gave Lombardi "validation" on the issue. [18] Lombardi's coverage of Purdy received further attention in early November of 2022. Lombardi attributes some of the 'unfounded' criticism of Purdy to his nickname, “Mr. Irrelevant”. This nickname is given to the last pick of an NFL draft. In a series of tweets, Lombardi stated that “draftism” has distorted the perception of quarterbacks, and pointed out the difference in salary between Purdy ($3.7M over 4 years) and fellow quarterback CJ Stroud (approximately 10 times that of Purdy) who was an early draft pick.[19]

David Lombardi was stated to be an 'organization man' by fellow sports journalist Chris Beck for giving "the impression" that he has been "teaming up in an unspoken partnership with the Niners’ management" as opposed taking a more critical approach in covering the team.[20] In the article, Beck contrasted him with Grant Cohn, another sports commentator who takes a more contrarian and sceptical approach to covering football. Since 2023, Cohn has stated that he and Lombardi are locked in a feud. As of September 2024, Lombardi has never commented publicly in response to Cohn. This lead to a May 2024 House of Strauss podcast appearance by Cohn where he was asked whether he felt "threatened" by Lombardi's increasing use of Youtube, which up to then was considered 'Cohn-territory', which he denied.[21]

Personal life

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According to a KQED feature, his earliest memory of the 49ers came in January of 1993, where he remembers his father being upset as the Dallas Cowboys were scoring a long touchdown to win the NFC Championship Game at the end of the 1992 season.[22]

In addition to U.S. citizenship, Lombardi holds Czech citizenship through his mother. He also is fluent in Czech. Lombardi is of Swiss-Italian descent on his father's side.[23] He is married to his wife, Margo Lombardi (neé Kaestner). The couple was featured in an edition of NFocus, a lifestyle magazine based in Nashville.[24]

He is not related to Vince Lombardi, despite the shared surname and the existence of rumors to the contrary.[25]

References

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  1. ^ Silverman, Sam (April 21, 2022). "David Lombardi grew up a die-hard 49ers fan. Now he gets to write about them every day". Peninsula Press. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  2. ^ "A look at the 76th annual Brut Sun Bowl". paloaltoonline.com. December 29, 2009. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  3. ^ "The view from Stanford: David Lombardi". jsonline.com. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  4. ^ "Stanford football & recruiting Q&A with David Lombardi". pacifictakes.com. November 3, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  5. ^ Wire, S. I. (April 26, 2017). "ESPN layoffs: Ed Werder, Jayson Stark on list of cuts". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  6. ^ "You've Got Mail Podcast - Ep. 6 The Athletic's David Lombardi". 49ers.com. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  7. ^ "Change is afoot on the 49ers beat". ninersnation.com. June 22, 2018. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
  8. ^ "David Lombardi at the College of Marin". coursicle.com. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
  9. ^ Kleen, Brendon (September 13, 2024). "Tim Kawakami and David Lombardi leave The Athletic for San Francisco Standard". Awful Announcing. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  10. ^ "2012 Rankings". Sportscasters Talent Agency of America. Retrieved September 10, 2023.
  11. ^ "David Lombardi predicts whether Deebo Samuel extension or Jimmy Garoppolo trade happens first – KNBR". knbr.com. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  12. ^ "Looking ahead to Eagles, 49ers rematch: When is San Fran ever healthy?". Inside the Iggles. May 16, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  13. ^ Ting, Eric (March 2021). "Here are the reporters, pundits who thought the San Francisco 49ers were taking Mac Jones No. 3". SF Gate. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  14. ^ Banerjee, Sauvik (May 13, 2024). "Jordan Love vs Brock Purdy: David Lombardi Reveals the Clear Winner in the Much Debated QB Contest". The SportsRush. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  15. ^ Quality sports journalism as a strategy to cover the NFL | The Athletic's David Lombardi, May 1, 2024, retrieved June 22, 2024
  16. ^ Ting, Eric (January 24, 2024). "The discourse around 49ers' Brock Purdy is worse than ever. Is one man to blame?". SFGate. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  17. ^ Fernandez, Gabe (December 22, 2023). "Reddit post on Brock Purdy's speed baits 49ers beat writer into failed Lamar Jackson comparison". SFGate. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  18. ^ Fernandez, Gabe (September 30, 2024). "49ers QB Brock Purdy's bold claim gets a fact check". SFGate. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  19. ^ "49ers insider David Lombardi shared his opinion on the uproar against Brock Purdy". The Times of India. November 2, 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
  20. ^ Beck, Chris. "Sportswriters Are Becoming "Organization Men"". Splice Today. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  21. ^ HoS: Grant Cohn vs. The Media, June 12, 2024, retrieved June 22, 2024
  22. ^ Montecillo, Alan; Cronin, Dana (February 9, 2024). "Can the 49ers Get Back to the Promised Land? | KQED". www.kqed.org. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  23. ^ Lombardi, David. "Tomáš Hertl, Radim Šimek and Lukáš Radil: On the Czech hockey legacy and an American life for the three Sharks". The Athletic. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
  24. ^ Nelson, Sandra (September 28, 2023). "Taking Vows: Kaestner-Lombardi". Nfocus. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  25. ^ "Is David Lombardi Related to Vince Lombardi? The Truth Behind the Rumor". Doms Desk. August 3, 2023. Retrieved September 9, 2023.
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