Veteran writer suspended

BOSTON – The Boston Globe suspended veteran sports writer Ron Borges on Monday amid accusations he plagiarized part of a football column from another reporter.

The Globe’s editor, Martin Baron, said in a story posted on the newspaper’s Web site that Borges had included in his football notes column last Sunday material written by Mike Sando, a reporter for The Tacoma News Tribune.

“The Globe does not tolerate plagiarism,” Baron said in a statement. “Extensive passages written by the Tacoma reporter were used verbatim in the column by Borges, and that is prohibited.”

Borges, a sports writer at the paper for 24 years, was suspended without pay for two months and barred from broadcast appearances for the same period, Baron said.

The Globe said Borges, its national football writer, used without attribution material from a notes exchange used by NFL writers.

In notes exchanges, writers typically share information about their teams with their colleagues. However, the information is usually attributed to the original paper or used as background material.

Globe sports editor Joe Sullivan said Borges was not aware the material had been published in the News Tribune on Feb. 25.

Borges declined comment to The Associated Press on Monday night.

Globe sports columnist Bob Ryan was suspended for one month without pay in 2003 for his remarks on a television show that the wife of New Jersey Nets guard Jason Kidd needed someone to “smack her.” Ryan apologized for the comment.