11/05/24
July 09, 2010
'Professional Sports Have Devolved into Something Quite Sad': Boston Globe sportswriter Tony Massarotti says the manufactured LeBron James "decision" broadcast shows that the sports media has become a joke: "We have become lackeys and mouthpieces, apologists and enablers. We tell people like LeBron how great they are, over and over again, and we withhold the truth because it might cost us a competitive advantage. ... The obvious public relations strategy here is for the star to control the media -- and not the other way around -- and desperate media outlets have been all too willing to acquiesce. In the process, as a group, we have sacrificed any chance at accountability, which is what we were intended to obtain in the first place."
posted by rcade to basketball at 08:06 PM - 19 comments
If it's any consolation to those in the sports media, at least they held out a while longer than the rest of their media brethren did.
posted by TheQatarian at 08:27 PM on July 09, 2010
I posted this link in the other Lebron thread earlier today. Covers all the bases.
posted by MW12 at 09:56 PM on July 09, 2010
In the process, as a group, we have sacrificed any chance at accountability, which is what we were intended to obtain in the first place.
So, as I understand it, Massarotti is upset because the media has regressed from the dirt-digging, voracious appetite-driven monstrosity of the Tiger Woods hunt.
It hasn't quite reached the state it was when players like Mickey Mantle were in their prime (and the media kept his drinking and womanizing out of the public eye).
I think the sports media needs to realize that "sport" is just another word for "entertainment", and the difference between "athlete" and "actor" is the presence of a script.
Except, in the Lebron James case, there WAS a script and the wrong kind of media (sport, instead of entertainment) was sent to report it.
posted by grum@work at 09:59 PM on July 09, 2010
I think the sports media needs to realize that "sport" is just another word for "entertainment", and the difference between "athlete" and "actor" is the presence of a script.
And that the difference between ESPN and E! is basically an S, a P, and an N.
posted by holden at 10:58 PM on July 09, 2010
And there's still no "I" in "team".
posted by lil_brown_bat at 07:00 AM on July 10, 2010
I think the sports media needs to realize that "sport" is just another word for "entertainment", and the difference between "athlete" and "actor" is the presence of a script.
So do the fans.
And there's still no "I" in "team".
When Lebron is on the floor he can be a fantastically selfless player. The problem that seems to have emerged in the wake of this past season - which came out in the very first press conference he gave following the Cavs loss to the C's - is that he considers his "team" to be his agent, cronies, and hangers on, rather than the guys with whom he shares a uniform.
posted by MW12 at 07:38 AM on July 10, 2010
This would sound a lot better if it weren't coming from a guy who gets himself on every media outlet in New England and makes a living be a contrarian.
posted by yerfatma at 08:06 AM on July 10, 2010
And there's still no "I" in "team".
I was just watching a show about the great Brazil team of 1970. Carlos Alberto was being interviewed about Pele and Rivelino's goal celebration in the final. He said "If you want to celebrate by yourself, go and play tennis."
posted by owlhouse at 08:33 AM on July 10, 2010
I think the sports media needs to realize that "sport" is just another word for "entertainment" ...
There's a meritocratic element to sport that makes it different from other entertainment. Or at least it did. LeBron James is getting hyped far beyond his accomplishments in basketball. It's self-reinforcing fame that's less attractive than when a player rises from backup status, as Tom Brady did in football.
When legendary status in sports is preordained, it's losing something that makes it special.
posted by rcade at 09:42 AM on July 10, 2010
I think the sports media needs to realize that "sport" is just another word for "entertainment", and the difference between "athlete" and "actor" is the presence of a script.
So is the whole thing bogus, then? I mean, I do think of sports as entertainment. But I don't think of it as fake. What entertains me about sports are the conflict, stakes and competition. Or are you just talking about the press conferences and interviews? Because they're usually predictable.
Shit, I read that grum and I wonder if you even like sports anymore.
I think the sports media has become complicit for the sake of access. This is what got Tiger is trouble. They went after him hard because there was nothing to lose. Tiger never gave access, so Tiger never inspired much loyalty in the media. The media is as competitive as the competitions they cover.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 09:43 AM on July 10, 2010
Shit, I read that grum and I wonder if you even like sports anymore.
Oh, I do. But what happens down on the field of play is only different from what happens up on the big screen by one simple fact: it's unpredictable. Otherwise, they are doing it for my entertainment.
There's a meritocratic element to sport that makes it different from other entertainment.
And there isn't in entertainment? Sure, there are media generated stars (that Beiber kid, Megan Fox) that aren't based on merit (as far as I've heard), but those fade away (just like rookies that flame out after big seasons). The real attention is paid to the true stars that prove themselves (Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Clint Eastwood).
posted by grum@work at 10:21 AM on July 10, 2010
The real attention is paid to the true stars that prove themselves (Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Clint Eastwood).
I think they are the exception in entertainment. Hollywood doesn't give a crap if anything is good or not. It just cares whether it will make money. Sports is a field where the hype still has to be reconciled with reality. LeBron's lack of rings shows that.
They went after him hard because there was nothing to lose. Tiger never gave access, so Tiger never inspired much loyalty in the media.
Tiger gave access to the sports and golf media, so they were beholden to him. A golf journalist being blackballed by Tiger wouldn't be able to do his job effectively. It was the larger media that got him into trouble, since they had no financial reason to protect his reputation.
posted by rcade at 10:25 AM on July 10, 2010
And there's still no "I" in "team".
Yeh, but there's at least two in Miami.
posted by graymatters at 12:16 PM on July 10, 2010
in the Lebron James case, there WAS a script and the wrong kind of media (sport, instead of entertainment) was sent to report it.
I think that says a lot about how I feel about the whole circus. The days of build-up, the three hour special leading into the press conference, the reaction by the owner. I found myself wondering if Vince McMahon had purchased the NBA.
I will honestly not be the slightest bit surprised if, during a Heat game next year, one of the opposition grabs a folding chair and hits Lebron while the referee is being distracted by another team member.
posted by tahoemoj at 12:34 PM on July 10, 2010
It was the larger media that got him into trouble
Silly me, here I thought it was his inability to control his dick that got him into trouble.
The media, and the public, love a circus, and love to see people self-destruct. Doesn't matter if it's sports or Hollywood. Charley Sheen, Tiger Woods, Mel Gibson, John Daly, Lindsey Lohan, Micheal Vick...the list could go on for pages.
They also seem so interested in building hype up to the point that everything seems anti-climactic.
In the end, I think people are starting to realize that it is all just entertainment, and to leave it at that. I have strong ties to my Vikings and Twins, but I don't know if a kid growing up in today's society will build similar ties, maybe just view them as entertaining...what's cool today is passe tomorrow.
posted by dviking at 12:21 AM on July 11, 2010
I will honestly not be the slightest bit surprised if, during a Heat game next year, one of the opposition grabs a folding chair and hits Lebron while the referee is being distracted by another team member.
One can hope.
posted by justgary at 01:20 AM on July 11, 2010
In the end, I think people are starting to realize that it is all just entertainment, and to leave it at that. I have strong ties to my Vikings and Twins, but I don't know if a kid growing up in today's society will build similar ties, maybe just view them as entertaining...what's cool today is passe tomorrow.
Yet we keep coming back. I imagine each generation says something similar about the next.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 11:50 AM on July 11, 2010
I have strong ties to my Vikings and Twins, but I don't know if a kid growing up in today's society will build similar ties ...
I think they will, though perhaps not in the same numbers we did.
Here in Jacksonville, the fans who care the most about saving the Jaguars are often the people under 25 who grew up with them. Fans like me are transplants from other cities who still have a fallback team.
posted by rcade at 12:36 PM on July 11, 2010
Yep!
Fuck it. I'm going to go see Predators.