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Inquirer reporter Jeff McLane still doesn’t know why he was ejected by the Eagles

Making his regular radio appearances, Inquirer beat writer Jeff McLane spoke Tuesday for the first time publicly about being ejected from the Eagles' press box during a game and said he still doesn't know exactly why he was tossed.

"From my point of view, I really don't understand and I don't think I've gotten an accurate answer why I was ejected," McLane told 97.5 The Fanatic morning show host Anthony Gargano.

McLane also spoke with WIP morning host Angelo Cataldi, relaying similar remarks. He is scheduled to appear later Tuesday on Comcast SportsNet.

McLane, who has covered the Eagles for eight seasons, was escorted out of the press box by security and removed from the stadium during the second half of the team's 27-13 season-ending win Sunday over the Dallas Cowboys.

McLane said reporters were debating a penalty in the third quarter when Zach Groen, an Eagles public relations coordinator, told journalists they were being too loud. McLane said he spoke outside the press box with Groen to hash things out.

Eagles security showed up 15 minutes later with Anne Gordon, the team's senior vice president of marketing, media, and communications. Gordon is a former Inquirer managing editor.

"The security person came and just tapped me on the shoulder said, 'You're being ejected.' " McLane said. "I was really surprised. I thought they had the wrong person."

"I asked for security to eject Jeff from our press box, a press box that has a standard code of behavior that every reporter understands and actually participates in endorsing and policing ... so that people can watch the game and can follow and do their jobs carefully," Gordon told the Inquirer after the game.

As Inquirer columnist Bob Brookover noted, Gordon has declined to comment further on the incident.

McLane was escorted out of the building and finished his coverage from Lincoln Financial Field's parking lot. He returned to the NovaCare Complex on Monday to conduct exit interviews with Eagles players, including quarterback Carson Wentz.

"Aside from missing the final quarter and the interviews after, my job was still the same and will continue to be the same," McLane said. He noted that there are no further restrictions on his access moving forward.

"I don't want to make this about me," McLane said. "I'd rather just go about talking about the Eagles and talking about what's going to be an important offseason for the team."

After the interview with McLane, Gargano, a former Inquirer reporter himself, harshly criticized the team over the incident.

"I find their behavior petty and quite frankly disgraceful," Gargano said. "They should worry about winning games and building something instead of worrying about nonsense that goes on in the press box and trying to take it out on a reporter."

WIP's Ray Didinger, who has been in press boxes covering football since the 1970s and is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, also criticized the Eagles for how they handled the situation. 

"To me this is unprecedented," Didinger told Cataldi on Tuesday. "I think they took a non-incident and turned it into the incident.

"There had to be a middle ground between 'shush' and calling in the National Guard," Didinger said.