Apparently the Bro-Jos have a little crush oh Hersh.
Oh My.
They also miss the point. They complain that this stuff about hersh being at a top-5 paper (whatever that is) or not having run a 4:48 miles is just silliness.
or that you have to be an a-hole to be a good reporter.
First of all, Hersh often will do a journalistic no-no - make the story about himself or just ask a certain question so he can stick it to the subject.
In this case, it's pretty clear that Hersh disdains Hall for his efforts, but he uses his platform to 1) ask a question designed to further his own idea and 2) report about said question in the article to again further his own agenda.
his question happens to be legit, but it's very clear what he is doing and why he's asking. You can see it in how he writes about the subject - in this case Hall.
In an opinion piece this is just fine, but to do that in a news story is not professional.
A reporter should report on the facts of the race and bring in all relevant info, but shouldn't make the story about himself as Hersh has done time and time again.
Secondly, I think it's fair to question a writer's credential to show where their biases are.