Oh how the mighty are falling.
It’s been quite a week for once-dominant athletes. On Monday morning, the news broke that Kobe Bryant, a 17-time All-Star with 5 championship rings, was retiring from the NBA at the close of the season. Before the sports world even had a chance to truly digest the fact that the league’s golden boy — someone who has been compared to Michael Jordan — was calling it quits, another piece of news came across the wire. Tiger Woods, one of the most dominant golfers of all time, said he is “unable to commit to playing golf next year,” leading many to believe he might be hanging up his clubs for good.
And then there’s that little story of the great Peyton Manning possibly losing his starting job to a kid from Arizona State. Manning, who has secured a spot in the Mt. Rushmore of all-time quarterbacks and is one of the most likeable — and marketable — athletes in the modern era, may have taken his last snap (at least with the Denver Broncos).
In short, it’s been a wild ride the past few days. But to me, the story that’s most compelling is that of Bryant — but not because of the news itself. His skills had been rapidly diminishing, which can only be expected when competing against athletes who are two decades younger. What’s so captivating — and alarming — is the way he chose to break the news. Rather than giving a press conference, Bryant published a piece on The Players’ Tribune, a platform that enables athletes to circumvent the sports media by communicate directly with fans. His entry — written in the form of a poem — was heartfelt and sincere, but it didn’t address a number of questions that both reporters and fans might have, like why he waited until the season had begun to make his critical decision, and how much of an impact injuries may have had.
Now, I guess we’ll never know — at least not until he pens another poem — and that’s a big problem, because he’s hardly the first athlete to go around the media and present his “unfiltered” story on the site. The Players Tribune, founded by Derek Jeter, has notched several scoops, including Red Sox slugger David Ortiz announcing his retirement, and NBA star Kevin Love revealing that he was resigning with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
And it isn’t just announcements. Woods wrote an essay on the site lashing out at a Golf Digest columnist who had mocked him, and NY Mets pitcher Matt Harvey utilized the platform to quash speculation that he was sitting out the postseason to let his shoulder heal.
The Players Tribune, according to Jeter, provides athletes with a “safe place where they can get their message across the way they want to portray it.”
Here’s my issue. I believe someone who is the face of a team, an organization, and a brand shouldn’t have to run to a safe place. I believe he or she is obligated to stand up and face the music and answer those tough questions. Why?
- When you answer tough questions, it humanizes you. It shows fans, coaches, teammates, and opponents that you aren’t perfect. And while that might seem scary, it also removes some of the pressures that come with perfection and makes you more relatable.
- There are lessons to be learned. For me, the best part of any interview comes when someone opens up about what they learned from a mistake or what they would’ve done differently. In a recent interview, CIO Myra Davis said she underestimated how much education was required when it comes to fully leveraging data — something that might be very helpful to other leaders.
- Scripting your own answers is disingenuous. Another thing I really like about an interview is when the subject pauses before answering, because it shows me that he or she is really thinking about how to respond, and not just spouting off an “unfiltered” response.
Now, I understand that many athletes and other figures have felt like they were misrepresented or even vilified by the media, and sometimes the claim was justified. But to think that the answer is to cut out reporters completely is short-sighted and even arrogant. It’s also puzzling as to why Jeter, someone who was treated with the utmost respect (even kid gloves, in my opinion) by the New York media, would feel the need to hide from reporters. But to think that setting up a website makes him a journalist is actually offensive (the fact that he named Russell Wilson as senior editor is laughable — I’ve caught a football before, but that doesn’t make me qualified to be the Seahawks’ wide receiver).
I realize I’m fighting an uphill battle and that the Players Tribune is likely only going to grow, but I still wish that the athletes who gladly accept all the perks of being rich and famous would take on just a bit of the responsibility as well.
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