One-source wonder?

[Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!!]

I posted this story on the News thread, but I want to put here and see if we could get some discussion on matirx of the story; its an example of writing without the subject's participation.

Alan Shipnuck wrote a story for SI on (rumored) former (maybe) pro golfer Anthony Kim.
http://www.golf.com/tour-and-news/anthony-kim-ryder-cup-breakout-star-2008-nowhere-be-found?page=1

It's a neat story: Kim may be through playing pro golf - at age of 28 - to collect on a tax free $10 million insurance policy, related to a career-ending injury.
Kim has been off the radar for a few years. No agents. No media and no golf events.

Shipnuck writes a long story on Kim and kind of sorta - almost as an aside - really throws out the idea that AK has quit playing to collect the insurance payout. His source? An anonymous friend.

There is absolutely nothing in the story to verify the claim. To me, it's a one-source story. Well, there are a lot of other people being quoted stating they hadn't talked to Kim or recalling the last time they talked to him.

I'm curious and fascinated by Kim, but I don't like the speculation - that he's not playing pro golf to collect an insurance policy - that comes out of the story, because no one has verified it.
Plus, it also seems highly unlikely the scenario of pay-out would happen.

Thoughts?

 

[BurnsWhenIPee]

One could almost consider that a no-source story, given the meat and the tone of the story is all based on an anonymous source, with no corroboration.

Sure, he has people on record, like the waitress at the strip club talking about how nice he treated the girls when he went there. But not people on record that have any significant light to shine on the story.

I'm with you - in saying he MAY BE a lazy, shiftless guy who could take another run at pro golf, but prefers to tool around in his pimped-out Rolls and collect his Nike money and $10 million (and they couldn't even pin that amount down, some say it's much more) insurance money, I'd like to see a name on that.

Ideally, I'd like to see Kim comment. Shipnuck could frame it as his search for Anthony Kim and if he gets him, he's got a hell of a long-form story pretty much writing itself.

 

[Rhody31]

The meat of the story read similar to a cover story they had on Kim years ago.
I'm wondering if he used a lot of that info for background.

 

[MisterCreosote]

The source is basically accusing Kim of planning to commit insurance fraud. Maybe that's why there's only one.