You've got to wonder how much FF is playing a role in it all. Its popularity has skyrocketed over the last decade with millions if not billions of dollars worth of business built around it. Now all of the sudden anything that can effect someone's playing time becomes news-worthy and relevant because there's a HUGE FF audience there to gobble it up. Modern forms of media/communications, from videos taken via cell phones to Twitter comments, are feeding the frenzy. They've made the world a much smaller, much less personal place where even the most insignificant "news" can spread worldwide instantly.
I think what makes it even worse is that all of this is occurring in a landscape where people have thin skin, are easily offended and have become either sue-happy or sue-paranoid. It's sad that we now live in a world where a dumb comment made in front of someone's cell phone can put a multi-million dollar contract in jeopardy only a few hours later.