I was putting off writing this blog today so I got onto espn.go.com. Two of the headlines were about athletes and how something negative had came up in their personal lives. One was about Dwayne Wade and how his estranged wife and children (crazy I know) are suing him and his new girlfriend Gabrielle Union.
The other was about a University of Virginia lacrosse player who killed his girlfriend. This is what I believe is wrong with sports today. The media chooses to focus on the athletes personal lives compared to what they do on the court or field. These athletes live under a microscope that only looks for the negatives not the positives. When was it the last time that a athlete was on ESPN’s front page because they started a relief fund or did something for the community. The story about Dwayne Wade fails to mention the fact that his relief fund for Haiti has already raised over $800,000, or the fact this winter he bought a new house for a woman whose nephew accidently burnt down her house. I believe that the media, especially Sports Center, should stay out of athletes personal lives. If the media cannot stay out of an athlete’s personal life it should focus on the great things that one does not just the negatives. The media is denying kids the right to look up to athletes as role models, as people who learn from mistakes. Michael Vick is in no way a role model but it is nice to see that he has learned from his mistakes and is on his way back to becoming a better person. The media was covering the whole Vick incident, and it all stopped once he went to jail. No one was covering how he behaved in jail or how he is now that he is out of jail. That is where the media is wrong. They do not allow for the public to see athletes redeem themselves. This is what the media must do if they want to pry into athletes personal lives and bring balance back into sports media today.
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That is very true. The media always tries to make the best person look at, which i believe is a horrible thing to do. There are so many children around the world who look up to celebrities and with the media making them seem like bad people, children will have no one to look up to.
ReplyDeleteTwo words. Brett Favre. Enough said. I hate how ESPN harps on one or two stories that have nothing to do with the games at all. It is so frustrating.
ReplyDeleteI think stars and their privacy is a hot topic today. I like your unique idea on this. I think some people is getting fun from gossip about the athletes life other than their career. But it's great that an athlete can learn from the mistake after all. That's a better model for children.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you and think that athletes should just play their sport and that's about it. You did a great job with proving your point about Dwayne Wade. However, the media will continue to bash athletes because viewers will continue to watch and support their show.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually writing my paper on a touchy subject like this. I agree that the media does over hype all the bad in athletes, but i've found that the public does have a right to know about their personal life, even the bad. But i also agree that they do not get enough credit for all the good they do. Maybe you can become a reporter and start a new blog about the good athletes do?!
ReplyDeleteI agree completely with everything that you have said in this blog. It's amazing because it's not just sports centers like ESPN but it's news as a whole. They love to focus on the negatives people and be all in their personal lives. They are regular people just like us; they just do what we would love to. LET THEM LIVE !.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Athletes should be regarded as professionals and not celebrities. You have great examples of how the media abuses these athletes personal space. The main example that comes to mind for me is the Tiger Woods "scandal." For the amount of shit that man gets, there are 2 times the amount of men and women cheating on their spouses. Leave him alone, it's not excusable, but it happens all the time. Crazy as this sounds, I sort of feel bad for him.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog, Trey--and clearly lots of other folks were intrigued, as you got a ton of comments!
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that shows like Sportscenter and websites dedicated to sports still do this. I mean, I watch a lot of E! television and read People magazine, and it's pretty obvious that they'll harp on the personal lives there. But it seems like the very opposite of what sports' networks should be doing, right?! It makes no sense, especially since their audience is likely there for sports, not gossip.
That said, I wonder if the public is as at fault as the media in some ways. I think it's a two way street. For instance, the public tends to have these freakishly high expectations for athletes, so it's a given that they will fail us. Additionally, though I don't think the media should delve into the personal lives of athletes, I find myself deeply trouble by stories like that of the murdering lacrosse play...or of Ben Rothlisberger. These are newsworthy stories, whether or not the person is an athlete, and I guess I don't think we should avoid it just because the person is a sporting type. Anyway, I'm babbling. But the main point is that your blog has really made me realize how complex this whole issue is. Thanks!