{"id":116133,"date":"2026-01-13T08:08:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T08:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/116133\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T08:08:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T08:08:12","slug":"lynn-jones-turpin-responds-to-backlash-over-polarizing-exchange-with-jaguars-coach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/116133\/","title":{"rendered":"Lynn Jones-Turpin responds to backlash over polarizing exchange with Jaguars coach"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the biggest stories from wild card weekend didn\u2019t take place on the field and the reporter at the center of it all has a message for those lobbing criticism her way.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jacksonville Free Press reporter Lynn Jones-Turpin said that she takes \u201cno offense\u201d to the critics in the fourth estate who have taken issue with her words of encouragement for Jaguars head coach Liam Coen following their 27-24 loss to the Bills on Sunday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lynn Jones-Turpin bucked traditional press conference procedure, when, instead of asking a question, she used the moment to tell Coen, in his first year as head coach of the Jags, \u201ccongratulations on your success, young man.\u201d<\/p>\n

The moment has created debate in sports media circles over the appropriateness of her comments and led several journalists to take swipes at Jones-Turpin on social media.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lynn Jones Turnpin responded to the critics in an interview today: <\/p>\n

\u201cSupport the Black Press. You can call me fake all you want to, honey. I\u2019ve been doing this a long time.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/qCqmdE5ozA<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) January 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Appearing on News4Jax<\/a>, Jones-Turpin was read some of the criticisms and responded.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t take no offense to [the criticism],\u201d she said on air. \u201cListen, I\u2019ve been in this business more than 25 years. I\u2019ve interviewed Barack Obama, Terry Bradshaw, [and] Tiger Woods. So he could say whatever he want about fake news.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am a member of the Black Press. NNPA, the National Newspaper [Publishers] Association that\u2019s been around for more than 100 years. \u2026 I\u2019m the associate editor of the Jacksonville Free Press, one of the more than 230 African-American newspapers still printing in this country today.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JournalistJournalist Lynn Jones-Turpin speaks about the viral reaction to her interaction with Jaguars coach Liam Cohen. @MLFootball\/X<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cYou can call me fake all you want to, honey. I\u2019ve been doing this a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The response was in relation to comments made on X by Associated Press reporter Mark Long, who described the moment between Coen and Jones-Turpin as \u201cnothing \u2018awesome\u2019 about fans\/fake media doing stuff like that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Adam Schefter had posted a clip of the moment on his X account and called it an \u201cawesome post-game exchange.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jones-Turpin has been at the Jacksonville Free Press since 2008, she told News4Jax in a separate interview, and she had also been a member of the Jaguars\u2019 scouting staff as an administrative assistant during their inaugural season in 1995.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"JaguarsJaguars head coach Liam Coen is praised by reporter after crushing NFL playoffs defeat in polarizing moment.
Jacksonville Jaguars<\/p>\n

Jones-Turpin has received plenty of support for her comments from various people, including sports media personality Pat McAfee <\/a>and\u00a0Bernice King, the daughter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.<\/p>\n

In a post online by the Jacksonville Free Press<\/a>, the outlet noted the virality of the moment while using it to cast a wider lens on the journalism industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the end, the reaction to Jones\u2019 remarks may say as much about the evolving expectations of journalism as it does about the moment itself,\u201d the outlet wrote. \u201cAs audiences demand both accountability and authenticity, the debate underscores a profession recalibrating in real time\u2014one where rigor and humanity are no longer viewed as opposing forces, but as complementary tools in telling stories that resonate beyond the final score. For the often-overlooked Black press, it shares on a national stage how for over a century they have remained a voice for intentionality with heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

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