"Timeline of events in the Ray Rice case"

From the Baltimore Sun

Analysis by Leah Travers in SRM 334 (section 2)

As a Maryland resident and Ravens fan, I decided to choose the handling of Ravens running back Ray Rice. This is a perfect example to look at when discussing the importance of public relations and media image. I want to look at how the NFL, the Ravens, and Ray Rice used different styles of media to communicate with fans and to clear up their image. The most used tools were news and press conferences, but others examples are commercials and interviews. They say actions speak louder than words and one image can redefine someone, but what is it about the second leaked video of Ray Rice punching his then-fiancé that got everyone changing their opinions about him? Could the league and the Ravens have pretend it wasn’t as bad because they didn’t see the action occur, even though we all know Rice punched her? 

“The decision to let Ray Rice go was unanimous. Seeing that video changed everything. We should have seen it earlier. We should have pursued our own investigation more vigorously. We didn’t and we were wrong” said Bisocitti. Image is everything now-a-days. The steps taken to shape a player, a team, or a leagues image is what will keep them successful in a business that all depends on what sponsors and fans think about them.

Mr. Goodell is in the hot spot after how he handled this scandal. Thoughts like “Why didn’t the NFL investigate the situation more?”, “do they even care about what the players do?”, and “are their apologizes sincere?” Mr. Goodell used a news conference to announce to the public that “he got it wrong” and “will get it right.” Another quote that I pulled from his news conference was his view of the NFL. "At our best, the NFL sets an example that makes a positive difference. Unfortunately over the past several weeks we have seen all too much of the NFL doing wrong and that starts with me." Personally, I wonder how many people really do see the NFL this way. But in attempt to clean up the leagues image they are now initiating a “long-term commitment to help people affected by domestic violence and sexual assault.” They are partnering with the National Domestic violence Hotline and the Sexual violence resource center to help women who have suffered from abuse. Which the NFL is funding the resources that these centers have lacked. The NFL also created a commercial of players speaking about “no more” domestic abuse. This commercial shows the support of players in Goodell’s decision to make the disciplinary actions towards domestic violence harsher more effective (first-time offense = six-game unpaid suspension, repeat offender = lifetime NFL ban).

The Ravens called the press conference in May with Ray Rice and his wife Janay. They both publically apologized for their actions. The Ravens then proceeded to tweet “Janay Rice says she deeply regrets the role that she played the night of the incident.” Why was Janay Rice even at this press conference? One thought I came up with is that they wanted the press and fans to see that if his wife can forgive him so can the world. If his wife will stay with him, the Ravens will stay, and so should the sponsors. The Ravens deleted their tweet. Mrs. Rice recently has admitted in an interview that if it weren’t for the Ravens suggesting her presence at the press conference, she wouldn’t have gone. Janay Rice wouldn’t have apologized as well if it hadn’t been suggested it. What I don’t think the Ravens expected was the back lash towards this tweet. A #WhyIstayed- viral hashtag campaign began over Janay and Ray Rice’s relationship during the aftermath.

Ray Rice has reach out to the media many times in the form of press conferences, public apologies, interviews, and statements. We see him going to intervention programs, couples counseling, and the prospect of him advocating for domestic violence when the time is right. The situation is now out of his hands and in the fate of those around him. Do they believe his apologizes or do they see these tactics as a way to save his career? After fighting for the right to stay in the NFL, Rice is now waiting in limbo for someone to pick him up. The question is if anyone is willing to take Ray Rice into their brand and risk the consequences, positive or negative.

"Chris Jones Dismissed by Louisville: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction"

From Bleacher Report

Analysis by Tyler Murphy in SRM 334 (section 1)

Within the past two weeks the University of Louisville released a statement that their basketball player Chris Jones was being released due to his charges with the police department. Jones was charged with rape and sodomy, and a warrant has been issued for his arrest. Another issue arose when a female student reported Jones had texted her and threatened to “slap the f*** out of her.” The Louisville head basketball coach, Rick Pitino had come out and said that he will no longer be apart of the team and no further comments will be made.

We did our power point on crisis management and what the University could have done to further prevent this crisis. The athletic spokesman for Louisville, Kenny Klein, had no comment on the report and let the media be the first to tell the public. Travis and I both agreed that he should’ve addressed the fans and public before the media to keep the image at Louisville upheld. The university a have had multiple incidences in the past 2 years dealing with suspensions and releases of players on the team.

I commend the University for releasing the player after finding out the true evidence, but something needs to be done to prevent these accidents from occurring because its starting to become a regular occurrence. Background checks before scholarship offers, curfews during the season, and more strict rules to abide by are multiple options for actions that could be taken to limit these problems.

Overall the crime has already been committed and there is nothing else to be done except serve your punishment. The university, along with Chris Jones, but can learn from this incidence and ensure that nothing like this happens again. On the university side, if it does happen again, they need to handle the situation better and address the media before the fans hear from other sources.

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Analysis by Travis Oyler in SRM 334 (section 1)

Over the past two weeks, The University of Louisville Men’s Basketball program has been in the media spotlight over the suspension and dismissal of one of their star players. Chris Jones, a senior at Louisville, was suspended and dismissed from the team for disciplinary reasons. Jones was first suspended from the team February 17 for sending threatening text messages to a female. With Jones out of the lineup, Louisville lost their following game to Syracuse by a score of 59-69. Jones was then allowed to rejoin the team under strict disciplinary measures, and in their next game, Jones led Louisville in a comeback to beat Miami. Jones was then dismissed from the team the next day after being charged with two counts of rape. Louisville will now go on this season without their star point guard.

This article is relevant to sports communication because the negative attention that Louisville now faces will have to be battled with good public relations and crisis management. Personally, I believe that Louisville did all of the right things before Jones was finally dismissed from the team. When Jones sent threatening text messages to his girlfriend on February 17th, Coach Rick Pitino did the right thing by immediately suspending Jones for one game. Louisville gave Jones a second chance to get his act together by placing him back on the team with strict disciplinary measures, but Jones slipped up again on February 22nd, when Jones allegedly raped and sodomized two women and broke his curfew. Louisville made the call to dismiss Jones the next morning which was the right move to protect their brand, but they could have done a better job of getting their version of the story out before the media could get a word in. Overall this situation is a great example of why organizations need to utilize good public relations and crisis management to protect their image.

Media and the NBA All-Star Weekend

From ESPN.com - article 1, article 2, article 3

Anlaysis by Max Swartz in SRM 334 (section 1)

For our current event, we decided to do things a little bit differently and choose one huge event with a couple of smaller stories that happened during the event. The event we focused on was the 2015 NBA All Star Weekend that occurred over the past weekend. The specific articles that we chose to focus in on were Carmelo Anthony’s decision on how much he was going to play in the All Star game, Kevin Durant firing back at the Media on Saturday, and Saturday Night Live dominating the ratings versus the All Star Game. Carmelo Anthony has had an injured knee all season, and he told reporters on Friday that he was going to shut his season down after he played for a couple of minutes. From a media standpoint, I believe that this story shows a break in the chain from the owner/management side of communication to the player side. If Anthony truly believes that he should not play any more then the team’s personal media staff should have came out with a statement regarding Carmelo’s health, and then they should have consulted with him about future statements that he should make to the media. The next smaller article that we focused on was Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder lashing out at the media at first in defense of his coach, Scott Brooks, but eventually ranting a little bit more on the award voting process and talking to the media in general. From a media standpoint, I believe this story is important because the way that we see players interacting with the media within the next 5- 10 years could completely change. It is becoming clearer and clearer that many players are beginning to have a problem with the media and how the media is misrepresenting the players. Also it is very different to have a player like Marshawn Lynch, who has been someone who has never been in the limelight and doesn’t enjoy talking to the media, and a player like Kevin Durant who is one of the young faces that will make up the face of the entire NBA, and someone like him needs to be able to talk to the media. The last article we did was about the television ratings during last Sunday night’s All Star Game; during the game, Saturday Night Live aired it’s 40th Season reunion special, and the ratings at the end of the night ranked the All Star Game with a 5.5 and SNL ended with a rating of 14.2. From a media communications standpoint I believe this story is relevant because if one of the league’s marquee events during the season gets that outshined, then there is a problem. Right now the NBA is making the most money, has more viewers, and there are more marketable stars then the league has ever had before, but that can all be overlooked if you cannot keep your viewers for one of the best events of the season. The key is to make the game itself more interesting and more enticing for the players to actually try, watching a little bit of that game like I did, it was easy to tell the lack of willingness to play the game and more just going through the motions.

All of these articles are relevant to this course in slightly different ways; the first story about Carmelo Anthony was about keeping possible injury announcements internal within the organization, and if an announcement is going to be made, then it should come from a team official so there is no grey area in the report. The next story regarding Durant is relevant because as possible members of the media someday, the player-media relationship is something that is going to change and we need to be ahead of the curve for it. The last story is relevant because every league has an All Star Game, and it should be must see TV, but with the way things are going, All Star Games are more out than in right now, and that is something that needs to be changed.

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Analysis by Jesse Moses in SRM 334 (section 1)

Our current event focused on the NBA All Star weekend, and more specifically three articles of events that occurred during the weekend. It was a star studded weekend with some very interesting topics that we got to cover. The first article that we will discuss is about Carmelo Anthony dictating his minutes in the All Star Game. He has been fighting a knee injury basically the whole season. In the article they quote Carmelo saying that it is “very likely” that he will not play the rest of the season after the All Star break, even though later in the interview he told reporters that he will play in the All Star Game, “Even if I come out and just play a couple minutes and just wave”. The second article is about Kevin Durant and his comments about the media and the voting for the MVP. He lashes out at the media saying that he is only talking to them because he has to. He then goes further into the whole media relationship with the players and comments on how they should not be the ones voting on the MVP, that in fact it should be the players because they play with the candidates. Finally in the third article, they discuss the competition between Saturday Night Live Forty and the NBA All Star Game (the two broadcast at the same time on Sunday). SNL stole many viewers from the All Star game and the article goes in depth into that competition.

In the first article there is a direct tie into the media and communication standpoint of this course. Carmelo Anthony went onto ESPN Radio and told them his plans for the rest of this year and more importantly the future. It is directly associated with communications between the player and the coach/front office and the team’s media sources. He went through an outside source of media instead of talking directly to the New York Knick’s reporters. On the coach/front office side, we wonder if he spoke to them before going through with this interview. We wonder if the team was blindsided or not by this comment. This ties directly to our course because we might someday have to deal with an athlete that is going through a similar situation. In the second article they speak about the tie between the media and professional athletes. Kevin Durant spoke out at the media telling them “"You guys really don't know s---". This was a direct shot at the media, that really got out Durant’s opinions. He believes that they are glorified and that they do not deserve the power that they are given. This article and story relates to our course because someday we could be the media and this is a statement directed at us. We have to know how to cover a statement like this and how to evaluate the situation and not let it get out of hand. Finally in the third article, they speak of SNL 40 and how it stole views from the All Star Game. The media/communication aspect of this article and of this story is very important in our field. As a part of the media we will have to promote events, such as the All Star break, and be successful in competition with other shows. This directly ties into our course because of the fact that we have to be able to deal with a situation like this and draw viewers to our program. We may face a very similar task at some point in our career and we need to mull down the situation and find a solution.

The NBA All Star Weekend was a long one with many different events. It was entertaining at parts and others were bland. The events were only half of the excitement, with Durant and Melo being in the headlines as well as the SNL 40 dominating the TV ratings. All in all it was better than it has been and people will definitely continue to talk about it.

Outspoken Athletes

From The Players' Tribune, The Cauldron, David-Wise.com, and Jacob Webster

Analysis by J. Reid Dickerson in SRM 334 (section 2)

Ever changing technology has allowed for significant growths in journalism and news reporting. News journalism has gone from regional reporting to international, from pens and paper to laptops and recording devices, and from newspapers and journals to radio and television then to internet reporting and cellphone news updates. Also with the improvements in technology, there is an increase in the amount of pundits putting forth their opinion on certain topics in the news. Nowadays, anyone can get or give opinions on certain news topics in a number of ways from comments on a news article to phone calls to a television station or radio station. The growing popularity of the public being interested in the opinions of former players and reporters on certain topics has led to many networks such as ESPN, ABC, NBC, and FOX News giving their analysts talk shows to voice their opinions to the tune of fantastic ratings and high listenerships. This occurrence is most popular in the sports reporting world with shows like Mike and Mike, First Take, and The Herd with Colin Cowherd, all on ESPN, featuring reporters giving their opinions on athletes and certain sports. This way of reporting has put the athlete at a disadvantage because it gives the athletes no real way to respond to their critics except in interviews and game news conferences where they have to field questions and can’t always respond the way they want. Because of this, more and more athletes have been writing first person articles to show their perspectives on certain sports topics, giving the fan a completely new way to interact with the athletes of their favorite sports.

When Derek Jeter retired in 2014, he quickly invested himself in life after baseball by starting a website called The Players Tribune, a website that gives current players a voice and a way to share their opinions, ideas and thoughts on their sports and athletics as a whole. Contributing writers and topics that have been tackled have been Derek Jeter on cleaning out his locker, Blake Griffin about Donald Sterling and the teams overall thoughts about the entire situation, and Danica Patrick on racing against her boyfriend. The Players Tribune seems to be the leading outlet for athletes to contribute their ideas and thoughts but is not the only way for athletes to let their voices be heard.

Blog posts and letters also are a way for athletes to give their view and outlook. Recently, Josh Gordon has published a letter he wrote to Stephen A. Smith, Charles Barkley, and other individuals who had criticized him for repeatedly getting suspended from the NFL for marijuana and alcohol related transgressions. In the letter, he describes why he got suspended most recently and why he doesn’t care what Stephen A. Smith or anyone else has to say about him because he has never met them. The article was hard to believe and seemed like a long string of excuses written by a hard-headed person who doesn’t want to stop living the life he is living but perhaps it is really the truth.

Other blog examples have come from the freeskiing community. Before the X Games one week ago, many people in the ski and snowboard community were in an uproar about the double booking of the FIS World Championships and the Winter X Games Aspen on the same weekend, making it nearly impossible for athletes to make both contests. Each contests has its merits. The FIS World Championships is the top competition offered by the FIS and has strong ties to Olympic qualifying. The X Games are the action sports world top contest and the first of its kind. Both David Wise, half pipe skier who is defending champion at both events, and Jacob Wester, who is not competing at either event, published articles describing the unprecedented problem, both with their own points. David Wise explained that the FIS were acting very arrogantly by expecting the top action sports stars in the world to skip the X Games, an event that was literally made for them, and attend the FIS World Championships. The X Games have always been held the weekend before the Super Bowl so as to obtain the greatest viewership and by the FIS scheduling their contest the same dates showed their pompous attitude and uncaring nature towards freestyle events. David Wise explained that he and other athletes tried to get the FIS to move the freeskiing events to the beginning of the contest so the athletes could make both events, to which they refused. The fact that the top 16 (16 riders is a full field) skiers and snowboarders for each discipline were on location in Aspen for X Games shows how much these athletes care about the X Games. In Jacob Wester’s post, he explained how he liked the comradery of the X Games because each athlete is competing for themselves instead of for their country as they are at the FIS World Championships which shows that the athletes are more supportive of each other doing well rather than winning for a country. Overall, the FIS hurt themselves by scheduling their event on top of the X Games because the best athletes were in Aspen and their competition was downgraded in intensity because of the lackluster attendees.

Due to the increase in these first person essays and blog posts written by current athletes who are in the middle of the sport and are most up to date on such topics rather than former athletes working for a news network, it seems that athletes are interested in sharing their opinions. The articles give fans an inside look at an athlete’s life and their feelings without the athlete feeling like they have to write the article or are writing it for someone else as they might feel in interview or news conferences. Hopefully, more athletes across all sports disciplines will join in and contribute their own pieces to continue this positive trend.

"DeSean Jackson Cut by Eagles Minutes After Report About Possible Gang Ties Is Published"

From The Wire

Analysis by Connor Cunningham in SRM 334 

For my current event I chose an article on DeSean Jackson and how he was released from the Eagles for possible gang relations. The article was on the website The Wire, and was written by Eric Levenson. The article discusses how the Eagles released DeSean Jackson mere minutes after a newspaper published a story that linked him to Los Angeles gang members. The story reported that Jackson had connection with L.A’s Crips gang. An associate of Jacksons form his rap label Jaccpot records was arrested for a gang related murder. The man was later acquitted of the murder charge, but this was still cause for concern for many. In 2012 there was another gang related murder near a building that one of Jackson’s family members owned. When police searched the place they found old receipts and gun permits of Jacksons. On top of this DeSean Jackson has been seen in several photos with one of the suspects from that murder, and is said to be flashing the Crips gang sign in these photos. This looks bad, although Jackson was never accused of any criminal wrongdoing. Eagles sources told NJ.com that, “a bad attitude, inconsistent work ethic, and missed meetings were the reason for his release”.

From a media/communications standpoint I believe Jackson was released because of gang ties. The Eagles were trying to trade him before the story went out, and once it was released it was the last straw for the Eagles. In 2013 DeSean Jackson hauled in 82 receptions for 1,332 yards and 9 TD’s. DeSean Jackson was 9th in the NFL in receiving yards in 2013. A guy like that doesn’t just get released over an attitude. There would have to be a team that would have traded for him? This may have been the thought a couple years ago but, ever since the murder by Aaron Hernandez many teams have stayed away from players that have character concerns, especially ones with reported gang ties. The media has had a field day with all of the allegations against DeSean Jackson. Many believe he is a bad teammate and what you would call a “cancer” to a locker-room, while others say he’s a guy who has a fiery attitude and is passionate about the game of football. The Eagles did not want to deal with Jackson, or the media attention that was coming with him.

Since his release DeSean Jackson has signed a contract to stay in the NFC East with the Washington Redskins. To relate it to our course, you have to look at the job the Redskins front office, coaches, and public relations department have ahead of them. How will they go about trying to fix the image many have of Jackson? Will they work at this or simply try to have people focus on his productivity on the field? As a Redskins fan my whole life I am ecstatic with the signing, and eager to see how this scenario plays out.

"Owner of NFL's Indianapolis Colts accused of intoxicated driving"

From Yahoo! Sports

Analysis by Madison McMillen in SRM 334 

Indianapolis Colts Owner Jim Irsay was arrested on Monday March 17th for driving while intoxicated and possession of a controlled substance. Irsay failed many field-sobriety tests when he was stopped late Sunday night for driving slow, stopping in the middle of the road, and not using his turn signal. When police searched his car they found many prescription drugs that did not match any of the labels they found on the pill bottles. After being processed at the Hamilton County Jail in Camel, Indiana Irsay was able to post bond and be released Monday afternoon. In a later article, Irsay is said to have checked himself in to a health care facility and is ready to get the help and care he needs.

Jim Irsay is said to be worth 1.6 billion dollars and as the Colt’s owner I would say he is a pretty important guy. The news of his arrest is a hot topic but I don’t believe the amount of publicity he’s getting is necessary. The media has given so much attention to Irsay over his negative actions when many people who are not so well known make these same choices and get arrested every day. He also publically announced his admittance into a health care facility which makes me wonder if he really wants to get help for himself or if people have forced him to do this because of how wide spread this news has gotten. While it is human nature for people to be curious over scandals of famous people or people in positions of power I believe a certain degree of restraint should be in place as these individuals are human and have family members who may be impacted by all of the negative media publicity. It is my opinion that personal issues should be left to the individual and their families to resolve on their own.

I think this is an important topic for our class to discuss because in our future jobs we will run into these sorts of issues whether it be an owner, coach, or athlete. By seeing how much media attention is given to an Owner for making a bad decision can help us understand how to handle the situation when something like this become an issue for whichever team we will end up working for. It also is a great example to use and learn from to help educate members of staff and players about having their personal issues being broadcasted because of their decisions.

"NFL to penalize use of racial slur"

From ESPN.com

From Tommy LaRose in SRM 334

Football has long been seen as a harsh sport for tough people, and language that would not be acceptable in other work environments is accepted on the field. However, the NFL is expected to enact a rule where players would be penalized 15 yards for use of the N-word on the field. The league’s competition committee will officially decide whether to agree to the rule next month. John Wooten, the head of the Fritz Pollard Alliance (which monitors diversity in the NFL), says he will be, “Totally shocked if the competition committee does not uphold” the new rule.

The possible new rule has gotten mixed reactions. Amongst African Americans, it could be argued that the word is actually a term of endearment. Regardless of how you feel about the word, some people believe it is the job of the players to police the use of the word. It is their responsibility to rid their workplace of the slur. It is interesting that the NFL feels it is their responsibility to discourage the use of the word. The timing of the decision is also curious. I personally believe the new rule is more of a PR move than anything else. I highly doubt many players have gone to the league office and complained about the use of the N-word. For many, it is a normal word that is used in daily conversation. It also seems counterproductive in the sense that the rule would bring the topic of race back to the forefront of the discussion in sports. We as a society are trying to move past the issue of race, and the NFL is no different. Trying to force people to act in a certain way or say certain things is not the correct way to go about it in my opinion.

The new rule seems to be more of a reaction to media coverage of recent events. Richie Incognito’s bullying of teammate Jonathan Martin was probably the driving force behind the rule. The media repeatedly reported on the threatening text messages sent by Incognito to Martin. Included in these messages, it was reported that there were many racial slurs aimed at Martin. One could conclude that the N-word was probably the most commonly used slur. The bullying incident sparked a hot conversation all over ESPN and other media outlets. People began to question whether the tough-guy image of the NFL had gone too far. The media discussed the culture of the NFL, and race was inevitably brought up as a topic. Bad publicity for the NFL is something the league does not want, and the new rule could be seen as a proactive way to try to change the culture of the NFL. Incognito’s harsh words embodied the culture the NFL is trying to rid itself of, and the NFL hopes the media will receive this new rule positively.

As we discussed in class, the new model of media is far different from the old model. It is progressive in almost every way and is much more interactive and detailed. The Richie Incognito incident would not have received nearly as much coverage 60 years ago: maybe a one-page story in the sports section of the newspaper. Today, the media jumped all over the story and painted the culture of the NFL in a very negative light. Media coverage of an event greatly influences the way the public views it, and sometimes can even prompt a reaction from an entity such as the NFL.

"Reporter made Olympic Skier Cry, Was it Unethical? NBC Takes Heat For Sochi Interview"

From iMediaEthics

Analysis by Luke Kaulius in SRM 334 

Bode Miller, an Olympic alpine ski racer from the United States won his sixth Olympic metal this February at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Miller placed bronze in the Super-G downhill event. For Bode, these Olympic games were far different from any of the others that he competed in. This is because of the recent death of his younger brother Chelone “Chilly” Miller, who passed away in April of 2013 due to an apparent seizure. Chelone Miller was a professional snowboarder who had planned to compete in the 2014 Sochi Olympics alongside his older brother.

After placing bronze in the Super-G event, Bode Miller agreed to do an interview with NBC reporter, Christin Cooper. During the interview, Miller was asked multiple questions regarding the death of his brother, Chelone. These questions eventually brought Bode to tears and he was unable to complete the interview. This raised much controversy regarding the intention of the interview and the morality of NBC. Many media outlets such as The New York Times believed that this interview crossed a very fine line and was unethical. People around the world posted their negative thoughts regarding this interview on social media sites such as Twitter or Facebook. However, Bode Miller believed that there was no one was to blame for the interview. He explained that it was a very emotional time for him and any reporter would have asked the same questions. Responding to the negative criticism, NBC came out with a statement justifying the interview and the intention behind it.

I believe that NBC and Christin Cooper did not do an adequate job preparing and conducting this interview. It was very obvious that they were trying to provoke Bode in an effort to get more media attention. NBC wanted to show the raw emotion of Bode Miller at a time like this, however they could have used better techniques. Rather than asking three out of the four questions in the interview about Bode’s brother, NBC should have eased into the topic and waited until the last question to bring up the death of his brother.

I believe that the perfect amount of emotion that would have been appropriate for NBC’s audience was after the first question regarding his brother. Once they asked two more questions about the Chelone Miller, it gave the audience the impression that they wanted Bode to break down and cry. Christin Cooper should have created a better atmosphere of trust by asking easier questions first and then finish with a question about the death of Bode’s brother. By doing this, Bode would become more comfortable answering the questions and not feel like he is being provoked the entire interview. I believe that if NBC and Christin Cooper had taken this approach, the interview would have portrayed the perfect amount of emotion and create a more content mood for their viewers.

This topic is very relevant to the course because it relates directly to the topic we discussed on interviewing. In class we discussed all components of an interview that occur prior to an interview and during an interview. These components are evident throughout the interview with Bode Miller, especially the method, audience, and agenda of the interview. After learning about how to develop interviewing skills, I am able to understand how the interview was conducted and where NBC might have gone wrong.

The areas that NBC struggled with this interview include the agenda of the interview and the particular way that Christin Cooper asked the questions. She did not create a good atmosphere of trust with Bode Miller because she jumped right into questions that were difficult to answer. NBC was not intentionally trying to provoke Bode Miller, but they did not do a sufficient job in creating a comfortable mood. After seeing this interview, I was able to examine a perfect example of a poorly constructed interview and understand why NBC and Christin Cooper received a great deal of negative scrutiny.

"KD well past tired of talking about LeBron"

From ESPN.com

Analysis by John Kim in SRM 334

In every sport, there are elite players and the media always try and compare to determine who the best player is. In recent years, LeBron James of the Miami Heat and Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder are considered one of the best players in the National Basketball Association. Even though they were compared for a few years now, the debate has fired up even more this season due to the fact that Kevin Durant is considered by many experts to likely take the Most Valuable Player Award after James has received it the past two seasons (Wallace, 2014). After the endless debate about these two players and the constant questions that they receive, Kevin Durant said that he is tired of being questioned about James. However, James told the press that he has no issues addressing questions about Durant (2014).

The media has been comparing elite athletes for a while now and it could be too much for both the athletes and the audiences. Even though many athletes are not too thrilled about the media asking them questions about other athletes constantly, the media keeps bombarding athletes about other players or potential rivals. The media’s intentions for comparing athletes could be to relate to the audience and promote drama; if players are compared and the media creates a “rivalry” between the players to relate to other audiences that are not so interested in sports, it could cause the audience to be interested. Also, sports audiences are interested on what the athletes say about their rivals, so they will tune into interviews, thus creating more views benefiting the media. 

This article is relevant to our course because we have constantly talked about the drama that the media creates and how it attracts both audiences that are extremely passionate about sports or not so passionate about sports. By releasing stories that include rivalries and dramas, the media relates to the audience and attracts them to what interests them. Even though Kevin Durant stated that he was tired of being questioned about James, the media will not stop asking questions about James or other athletes because people want to hear what Durant has to say about other players that he is compared with.

"N.F.L. Prospect Michael Sam Proudly Says What Teammates Knew: He’s Gay"

From The New York Times

Analysis by Tyler Brecht in SRM 334

The 2014 draft could be a huge milestone for the future of the NFL and the players in the league. Michael Sam was a defensive lineman for the Missouri Tigers in the 2013 season. He was a defensive star for the Tigers with 11.5 sacks and 19 tackles for loss. This helped Sam achieve a 12-2 season with a bowl win, Missouri's MVP, and SEC Defensive Player of the Year. The curiosity of what this athlete could do in the professional stage was on everyones mind. This was before Michael Sam announced something that would change the way fans, future coaches, future teammates, and the media would view Michael Sam possibly for the rest of his career. On February 9, 2014 Michael Sam openly came out about his sexuality. He did so before the draft in order for the media attention to hopefully simmer down before he starts his rookie career. Michael Sam would be the first player to go into the NFL being openly gay in a prospective third round pick(Branch, 2014). With the possibility of changing the way the NFL has functioned since its existence, the media is going to take no day off from this young man.

Michael Sam first coming out has since been the beginning of the media attention that have spiraled around this player. One event came from the support of his own school prior to a home basketball game. Fellow students created a manmade wall to block off protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church in order to rally around Sam's homosexuality(Patterson, 2014). Sam has also received support from our President, Barack Obama, and his first lady. Obama said to Charles Barkley, "I really like the fact that Michael did it before the draft, because his attitude was, 'You know what? I know who I am. I know I can play great football and judge me on the merits.(Patra, 2014)" With support from others outside the league the question of how future teammates would respond came into question. ESPN took a poll from 51 current NFL players asking how they would feel around a openly gay teammate. The results were that they were comfortable knowing he was gay, but the issue was whether they would have to behave differently around him and how they would relate to him(Goessling, 2014). Another problem raised when two CFL players were fined for their remarks on social media towards Michael Sam.

The real question is wether Sam's plan of dispersing the media attention before game day to focus on football is really going to work. There are going to be many future days were the media is going to have easy coverage of Michael Sam including the NFL draft, Missouri's pro day, the NFL Combine, and preseason attention. I think that it was a courageous act to pave the way for future gay athletes trying to make it to the big leagues. With that said Sam must be ready for the amount of media scrutiny coming his way. The media has a reason to give the amount of attention to this athlete because it is a game changer. Other athletes waited until they were retired from the game. Most likely the attention will fade away once they see what he can do on a professional field. Michael Sam may not be the only one receiving negative media attention from his actions. Other players and teams might be criticized for their actions because of his sexuality. Johnny Manziel is a great quarterback entering the draft, but might be overshadowed in his early career due to Michael Sam. Also, teams not willing to draft Sam because of team chemistry might be criticized. Teams might also have to worry about their players' remarks towards Sam's sexuality. In the case of the CFL two players were fined for their remarks(Alper, 2014).

This current event is important to understand in media for knowing that media affects everyone. Stakeholders are important to understand. Sports Information Directors are challenged with confidential information all the time and must know what to do in that situation. Before going to the media they must know how it will affect the stakeholders involved. No matter what media will always be there and it is important to understand the correct steps in approaching it. It was Sam's advisor's decision to allow Sam to release this confident information to the media before draft day knowing the consequences that would arise from the media. All this attention will not be set aside either. Future events will bring the topic back to surface and the media and those involved must be ready for it. With the new communication model in today's world, many forms of media can address this issue. It is important for those to look at the feedback in order to learn what to do in these situations.

Danica Patrick says Richard Petty entitled to his opinion

From ESPN.com

Analysis by Travis Garth in SRM 334

I decided to analyze the sport of NASCAR in this week’s class discussion. A few weeks ago NASCAR hall of famer Richard Petty was prompted on the subjected of Danica Patrick, he stated: “This is a female deal that's driving her. There's nothing wrong with that, because that's good PR for me. More fans come out, people are more interested in it. She has helped to draw attention to the sport, which helps everybody in the sport." Petty also states that, “The only way she will win a race is if everyone else stays home.” Richard Petty’s comments bring an interesting theme in NASCAR racing. His comments suggest that the drivers that win the most races do not receive the most attention in the sports media world or in the sport itself. This suggestion is supported by the fact that Dale Earnhardt Jr. won NASCAR’s most popular driver award for a record breaking 11 consecutive years despite only winning one race in the past five years. Also, Danica Patrick was the most popular driver award winner in NASCAR’s nationwide series and has yet to win a race in her career. It seems that NASCAR is becoming a popularity contest for drivers who have not proven their skills on the racetrack. On the other realm of the spectrum there is a driver like Jimmie Johnson who has won 26 races in the past five years. He also won the championship for five consecutive years and earned another championship in 2013. Even with Jimmie Johnson’s proven success in the sport he has yet to win the most popular driver award. With Jimmie Johnson’s career still in progress the media still tends to overlook him and other winning drivers in the sport.

Overall, it is intriguing that the most publicized drivers are not the ones who are winning the races. In competitive sport, where the overall goal is to win, the winners on the race track still lose in the world of sports media. This poses the question of how the drivers that are winning the races must feel, and what role sports media plays in the sport of NASCAR.

"Ex-NBA team in North Korea"

From ESPN.com

Analysis by Justin Syharath in SRM 334

Basketball is a sport that is growing more and more popular through countries all over the world. Throughout the years basketball has been used in a way for people to interact and come together to share common interests. In recent news, the media blew up when Dennis Rodman was sharing a common interest in basketball with his “friend for life” Kim Jong Un, leader of North Korea. Early January of this year, Rodman brought a team consisting of former NBA players and street basketball players to play in an exhibition match against a North Korean team.

Rodman’s intentions for this exhibition match were to uplift his relationship with Kim as well as sharing cultural differences between the teams, but the media didn’t seem interested. The relationship between the U.S. and North Korea are not exactly on level terms due to the fact that they have threatened to use nuclear weapons if conflicts were to occur and they also have an American missionary by the name of Kenneth Bae that is being held captive for reasons that the U.S. does not know of. The media constantly attacked Rodman with questions concerning Kenneth Bae and how and why their country is ran the way it is but Rodman states that it’s “none of that is his concern.”

This article is relevant to this course because we learned that as viewers of the media, we want answers. This event that Rodman took part in was supposed to be about an exhibition basketball match that influences how sports can be a bridge between cultural differences and to maybe set foot in the direction of peace between the two nations. Instead, the media ignores the positive aspects of this event and talks up the broken relationship that the U.S. has with North Korea.

"Cubs introduce new mascot"

From ESPN.com

Video from Cubs.com

Analysis by Renee Layne in SRM 334

On January 14, 2014 the Chicago Cubs announced their first mascot as Clark the bear cub. Clark is named after the intersection of Clark Avenue where Wrigley Field is located. The Chicago Cubs took a survey that revealed fans’ desire for a more “family friendly” atmosphere. Clark the mascot will hopefully bring a family friendly feel as he is intended to hand out T-shirts and welcome guests into the stadium before each game. Clark will also be seen waving goodbye to fans after the games. Unfortunately for the Chicago Franchise their new mascot was met with wide spread disapproval from the public on social media sites such as twitter and facebook. The reason this story is pertinent to our Sports Media class is because of how the media has helped project Clark as a laughable disgrace. Several ESPN clips can be viewed comparing the previous unpaid mascot John Paul Weier to the new mascot. John Weier has been dressing up in a bear costume with a cooler collecting donations from fans. The Chicago cubs have asked Weier to stop numerous times and even offered him $15,000 if he would agree to stop the charades. Unfortunately Weier has refused all such offers.

The tirade of outraged Chicago fans continue with such quotes as , “No pants. Yep Clark is definitely a cub.” And “he looks sad.” Several Clark photos have been photo-shopped to expose a reproductive organ on the cub. Clark made his first public debut at a children’s hospital in the hopes of building a family friendly reputation in the eyes of the public. Although the Chicago Cubs try to assuage their fans the negative media attention surrounding Clark continues.

Breaches in sport media ethics

From iMediaEthics 1, 2, 3, and Deborah Jackson's Ethics in Sport Media course website

Review by Tommy LaRose in SRM 435

During my presentation on the topic of ethics in sports media, I discussed a code of ethics set forth by the Society of Professional Journalists. The four main components of the code are as follows: seek truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently, and be accountable. While I believe these are important rules for all journalists to try to live by, things are not always so cut and dry in a field where the bottom line is often who gets the story first.

The main goal of the media is to appeal to the broadest audience possible. Of course the media also aims to inform the public about current events and issues, but sometimes they are willing to take shortcuts to get a jump on a story that will generate big headlines. The question is, at what point does a journalist’s or reporter’s actions cross the line from doing their job to acting unethically? This is not a question that is easily answered. Often times, journalists have to connect the dots to get a story they can publish. While the foundation usually is, or at least should be, based upon fact, some inferences are normally necessary to get a full story. For example, Selena Roberts recently wrote an article claiming that Lolo Jones was only awarded a spot on the US Olympic Bobsled team due to her star nature and sex appeal. She went so far as to say Jones is the ratings replacement for injured ski queen Lindsey Vonn. While this is clearly an opinion on the part of Roberts (she has no affiliation with the US Bobsled Federation), I still am not quite sure if it is fair of her to publish something potentially damaging to Jones. However, without Roberts’ opinion on the matter, there would be no story to be heard. So on the one hand, opinion is somewhat necessary, but it is not always fair. I believe it is okay to publish stories based heavily on conjecture, but people should not give these stories as much credence. The problem with that is people always want a story, and the media understands that controversy sells, so they will publish whatever story they can, no matter how loosely based on fact it is. The bottom line in my opinion is intention: if a journalist intends to inform factually and not stir controversy, then the job is being done correctly.

The article on the code of ethics in sports media clearly relates to this class in many ways. It relates to leadership, publishing, and certainly public relations. Content providers strive to be leaders in the society we live in, and understanding the ethical way to go about providing content is certainly helpful.

"IPC Says Sochi 2014 Paralympic Games Set To Receive Record Winter Broadcast Coverage"

From Bloomberg, PBS, and SportsBusiness Daily

Review by Ryan Biever in SRM 334
Olympic season after Olympic season, the Paralympics keep gaining air time in the United States and around the world. Even though the London Paralympics in 2012 was considered "The Best Paralympics Ever", the United States only aired five hours of coverage which consisted of highlights and a wrap up a week after the events ended. Other countries such as Britain and Australia had full coverage of the events and even shows showing the different stages of some disabilities. (Sherman, 2012) Britain has also gone to lengths of showing the opening ceremony of the Paralympics in London to show a split between the Olympics and Paralympics for the first time in history. (Stewart-Robertson, 2012) People need to be more aware and help spread the word, so the hard working athletes get the credit that they deserve and become known as a top athlete like they already are.

All three articles that were used in writing this paper relayed the same information but from different perspectives. The article from Sports Business Journal simply states that each upcoming Paralympics is set to break the previous viewing record and in order to continue to do so, networks such as NBC needs to recognize the true potential and power of the Paralympics. The Telegraph, which is a UK newspaper wrote about how they fully covered the Paralympics to their best ability while the U.S. only aired five hours, and out of those five hours, zero were live events. Some disability groups even condemned NBC due to the poor coverage. Chief executive of the disabilities council in UK was disgusted by NBC's decision saying, “For NBC to take such a decision is really, really appalling. It’s a very disappointing decision because as one of the foremost American networks they should want to celebrate these true examples of amazing sportsmanship.” (Sherman, 2012) Finally, the article from PBS just reiterated what both of the previous articles stated but also showed the comparison of the two networks approach to the event. Channel 4 of Britain showed commercials, advertisements and etc., while the U.S. exerted little to no effort to give the Paralympics any hype which is appalling.

Each Paralympics following the previous come bearing with record breaking numbers for viewers and publicity, so why won't NBC take on more than six hours of air time? There are some athletes with disabilities that are far superior in their fields than Olympic athletes, but none of their names leave anyone's lips nor does anyone acknowledge who they are. This is a big problem speaking from a media standpoint due to the issue that news and information is rarely spread and if so, it is scarce and minimally covered. If more networks were to pick up broadcasting rights for the Paralympics, it'll broaden their spectators horizon, increase revenue. attract new audience members, and offer another outlet for sports which in turn could introduce a whole new world of sport that people might find intriguing. The Broadcasting stations are failing to communicate to the audience which in correlation, the Paralympics aren't receiving the full number of fans that they actually have. Being that the Paralympics are rapidly growing, more air time is required which NBC has just now realized according to Sports Business Journal (SBC). SBC stated, "The 2012 London Summer Paralympics attracted a cumulative TV audience of 3.8 billion in more than 115 countries. The IPC now expects to beat the record viewing figures for the Winter Games..." (journal, 2013) Even though the issue has been recognized, they still only booked fifty hours of coverage which is an improvement, but not as much as what was anticipated.

The sports world continues to widen as more and more sports are introduced, it's our job and the medias job to help communicate to others to broaden their spectrum of sports and so the Paralympics can meet their full potential publicity wise.

"Phillies get $2.5 billion, equity stake in Comcast SportsNet"

From Philly.com

Review by Taylor Longacre in SRM 334

In today’s fast pace society sports dominate our conversations, our living rooms, and our restaurants, just to name a few. Our worlds revolve around the sport industry and we are significantly impacted everyday whether we know it or not. Recently the Philadelphia Phillies, a major league baseball team, signed a lucrative television deal. In the article Phillies get $2.5 billion, equity stake in Comcast SportsNet written by Matt Gelb and Bob Fernandez, many intriguing points are conveyed. According to Gelb and Fernandez from the Inquirer, the Phillies will have twenty-five percent ownership of the network, it is a twenty-five year contract, and advertising from broadcasts will be split in some manner. (Philly.Com) Also the Comcast Network will not be limited on how many Phillies games they will be allowed to televise; which is what makes this deal so interesting to me. Being from Philadelphia I grew up watching the Philadelphia Flyers and Sixers play on Comcast but not as much of the Phillies; Comcast is now televising three out of four sports teams in the area.

This article relates to media and communication because as stated by Gelb and Fernandez, “Media companies are furiously locking up the rights to live sporting events because the future of TV is unclear. There is still a premium for advertisers to target live televised sports, and the value is manifesting in these contracts.” (Philly.com) Comcast is one of the main media outlets for the sports in the area which gives them tremendous power over their competition. If Dish Network and DirecTV want to compete with Comcast they have to start carrying the Comcast Network for their customers to be able to view their favorite sports teams. This decision impacts rival media outlets on so many levels. Now if a Phillies fan wants to watch their team and they do not have Comcast it will be harder for them and cost more money. Fortunately in this mass media world we live in games can be streamed online but as a viewer you are losing clarity and convenience.

The Phillies television deal with Comcast emphasizes a couple points that were made in class. Hyper Localism in particular is critical in looking at this deal. Comcast airs all sports in the Philadelphia area and is really putting pressure on other media sources. Also after this deal went through, Comcast fired the two broadcasters for the team and are on the verge of replacing them. In conclusion, Sports + Media = Money. In this case the Phillies and Comcast are working together to better serve each sides interests.

The media's role in Alex Rodriguez's suspension

From X1.com and Biography.com

Review by Renee Layne in SRM 334

Alex Rodriguez’s negative reputation in the media started in 2001 when he signed a ten year, $252 million contract with the Texas Rangers causing his previously loyal Mariners fans to become outraged. Many of which vented their rage at Rodriguez on twitter. In 2007 he signed a ten year, $275 million contract with the Yankees. Negative media attention continued for Rodriguez through the tabloids printing his infidelity, failed marriage, slew of unprofessional tweets and his drug use. Since then Alex Rodriguez’s marketability as an athlete is in ruins and his public image is in tatters.

In early January 2014 Major League Baseball made the decision to suspend Alex Rodriguez, more commonly referred to as A-Rod, for two years based on his alleged drug use designed to further enhance his performance. Rodriguez’s attorney released a statement saying that Rodriguez planned on repealing any discipline given to him.

The reason this story is pertinent to our class is because of the role that social media coverage played in turning A-Rod’s public image from baseball’s super hero to Baseball’s poster boy for steroid use. Some reports even go so far as to say that Rodriguez’s suspension was granted based on the evidence found on facebook and twitter feeds. Such evidence points to A-Rod not only using performance enhancing drugs but also deliberately trying to hide such evidence from authorities in the investigation. According to blogger John Patzakis, investigators such as union general counsel David Prouty noted that social media evidence added a layer of proof that certainly would not have been available many years ago. (Patzakis) Users of networking and other media sites can learn a grave lesson from Rodriguez’s downturn. Users of social media site should be weary of statements they choose to release because those statements have a way of coming back to haunting a person later. Alex Rodriguez’s story shows us that not all media attention is good media attention especially if it costs you millions of dollars in contract deals. Only time will tell if Rodriguez will be remembered for his amazing baseball records or for his unfortunate image in the media.

"What happened between Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin?"

From Laces Out, Huffington Post, ESPN.com, and Bleacher Report

Analysis by Thomas Anzalone in SRM 334 (section 1)

Over the past week a member of the Miami Dolphins organization Jonathan Martin quit the team because other team members were bullying him. Richie Incognito was the targeted bully who left a viscous voicemail on Martin’s cell phone. Once upper level management heard this voicemail they suspended Incognito indefinitely. Richie Incognito has a history of getting kicked off teams and starting fights with players. With all this said many of the players on the Dolphins have came forward to say that Incognito is a great teammate and he took Martin under his wing to show him the way. When the media released the voicemail people started to attack Incognito through social media. He later retaliated on twitter to ESPN and Adam Schefter ESPN’s reporter. Incognito has taken his tweets off of his twitter page and neither Incognito nor Martin has yet to speak publicly about the incident. There are also numerous tweets between Martin and Incognito especially the picture posted of him and Incognito on Bourbon Street. When I first heard this story it immediately seemed like Richie Incognito had bullied Jonathan Martin to the point where he had to remove himself from the team. It didn’t even cross my mind to go online and write something about this incident or even go after Incognito’s twitter. 

I believe that social media can be good in certain ways but too many people abuse or misuse it. With social media growing so rapidly people feel the freedom to write what ever they want whenever they want. I think it’s just to easy now days to sit behind your computer or mobile device and say things to someone you wouldn’t say to their face. When the media found this voicemail they immediately started to attack Incognito and now that some of his teammates are having his back they are letting off him slightly. With the ability to communicate through technology so easily, a lot of things can get taken out of context. Since the audio of the voicemail hasn’t been released yet it’s hard to understand Incognitos tone of voice throughout the message. Incognito said some unacceptable things but it’s easy take Martins side after only hearing one side of the story. This story is relevant to our class because of all the media attention this story has drawn and all the talk throughout various types of social media networks. It shows us how members of the media are handling crises like this and how people on social media can react so quickly to one-sided evidence. This story also shows how not to respond to media reporters using social media and that things can easily be taken out of context through social networking.

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Analysis by Wyatt Johnson in SRM 334 (section 1)

My current event was based on the Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin situation that occurred over the past couple of weeks. Practical jokes and pranks are part of the culture in NFL locker rooms, but it seems that it went over board for the Miami Dolphins. They suspended guard Richie Incognito for conduct detrimental to the team for his alleged treatment of teammate second year player Jonathan Martin. It’s being portrayed that Incognito was bullying Martin but it went to another level once Fox Sports reported that the Dolphins and the NFL Player Association were informed that Incognito sent racial slurred text messages and left threatening voicemails to Jonathan Martin. Incognito allegedly made references to harming Martin’s family, calling him a half n****, and defecating in Martin’s mouth. It appears that Martin was fed up with a prank that occurred in the lunchroom. There were also reports of Incognito pressuring Martin to contribute $15,000 for player trip to Vegas which Martin did not attend. The Dolphins confirmed that they have reached out to the NFL to conduct a thorough review of this situation. It is uncertain if and when Martin will return to the team and Incognito’s future is up in air right now with the Dolphins Franchise.

I find this story puzzling, because both players seemed fairly close just from observing both their twitter accounts that have pics of them together doing numerous activities. I know when I first saw this story I was really shocked that this could even happen in the NFL. I feel like the media is bashing Incognito and I mean they have the right to. There is evidence of Incognito using words that he shouldn’t and his background is very sketchy from college to now. I do think that the media needs to pay more attention Jonathan Martin because obviously he has some self-esteem issues and may need some physiological help. Obviously Jonathan Martin didn’t feel he could trust anyone in the Dolphins organization to talk about the internal issues he was having. This story just shows how much impact the media can have on a particular situation. It’s all over the media markets and now people are starting to discuss the topic of bullying and how it can be stopped. I mean that is the basic overall take of this is the bullying and hazing being a critical factor in sports and society.

"Louisville lacrosse coach accused of abusive tactics"

From NJ.com and USA Today

Analysis by Alexis Cross in SRM 334 (section 1)

In today’s NCAA athletic arena it seems as though emotions are a key component in any athlete and coach. For example, Louisville University’s women’s lacrosse team faced various emotional hurdles this fall with the suspension of head coach Kellie Young. Young is a former 2003 James Madison University women’s lacrosse coach. While at JMU she led the team to three NCAA appearances. Unfortunately, head coach is now under investigation for complaints of abusive tactics from 6 former and previous Louisville lacrosse players. It is believed that head coach Young had just crossed the line. There were a few examples in the various articles, for example one being, coach had made a player with a torn ACL do 250 push-ups as punishment in an airport terminal.

Lacrosse is a fast growing sport and really doesn’t get the media coverage it deserves. However, in this case Louisville is getting almost too much coverage. The team, coaching staff and the school are all under investigation. It is just unfortunate that the coverage the media is providing is apparently exaggerating the information. I have a friend on the team and she stated “I feel so bad for my coach, they’re exaggerating everything, it is just awful here.” As outsiders prospective, it is hard to really know what to believe about this case. Does the head coach have her team brain- washed in other words, thinking that her coaching style is ok and normal? Or is the media just amplifying the information.

As a player, I could not imagine what the team is going through right now. It is my understanding that they did still compete this fall in tournaments under the assistant coaches. But the amount of stress this now adds to the team. It will be interesting to see how the case plays out and will the team overcome this adversity to compete they want to this spring.

Relating this topic to class, the media is inevitably changing the world of sports and how fast stories can get out. Also the fact that media is now so dominant in athletics, as a society we are so wrapped up in sports. The media has to keep up with how interested people are in knowing what is going on in the professional, college and maybe even high school sports. On the other hand, this scandal has showed me if I was ever interested in working in athletics how important being prepared and relationships are. Being prepared to handle any situations that are thrown at us in the athletic department. And the fact that continuing to develop relationships every day cannot only but help you when things like this come up. As a University you get through it together.

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Analysis by Jonathan Barden in SRM 334 (section 1)

The article I focused on was found on usatoday.com written by Adam Himmelsbach and was titled “Louisville lacrosse coach accused of abusive tactics”. The article took little time getting into the meat of the matter and dishing out the gossip a lot of readers would want to read about. After a short introduction the article swiftly moved into bullet pointing some of the worst offenses the coach had been accused of handing out to her players. The head coach, Kellie Young was allowed a few lines to defend herself in which she explained not all of these actions were 100% correct and then the article continued in a rather negative light, explaining more disturbing stories and action, or lack of action taken by the school to combat her behavior.

Analyzing this article from a media standpoint I would say that this article was rather one sided and definitely gave coach Young a bad name if you were to simply read this piece alone. The attempt to create a well-balanced article by throwing in the odd quote from Kellie Young did not really help her case as the next point immediately put her back down again by using rumored stories from disgruntled ex-players. From researching this story in depth a lot of other current players strongly stand by the coach and claim a lot of this information has been blown out of proportion or completely fabricated, but these point of views were unsurprisingly not included.

Despite this I would still say the article was a well written and well-researched piece. It definitely went in depth to the story, had numerous sources close to the camp and was able to use quotes from named players and parents to back up points made. In addition to this the author had clearly researched the topic well and had a good understanding of what was happening in the story, from disgruntled parents to the roles the athletic director and athletic administrator in attempting to control the situation.

I believe this article is extremely relevant to our course as it clearly shows how to write and lay out a news story to grab the reader’s attention. The title of “Louisville lacrosse coach accused of abusive tactics” immediately draws the reader in as it tells you there is going to be drama in the story happening as a very well respected sports program. And sports fans love nothing more than a drama filled sports story. Then after a brief introduction and laying out of the story it immediately gets into the key gossip filled points that most readers probably read the article for. This is an important tactic used for this type of writing as the reader is now hooked into the story and you can start to detail in more detail and more specifically what actually happened. Additionally the use of quotes not only adds more reliable information to the story but also helps break up the monotony sometimes found in articles that drag on without switching pace at all. The use of the “Story Highlights” section down the left hand column also helps to break up the story and is another effective tactic to entice the reader to read on. All of these tactics could be taken on board by members of our class to improve the standard of our sports writing in the future.

"No bowl ban for Miami Hurricanes"

From ESPN.com

Analysis by Alyssa Hough in SRM 334 (section 1)

Our media topic dealt with the NCAA finally making a decision on the University of Miami Nevin Shapero scandal. In November, 2009, Miami notified the NCAA about their investigation of one of their boosters, Nevin Shapero. They were investigating because he was throwing parties for athletes, taking them to strip clubs, buying them several things including food, clothes, and hotels for family and girlfriends, and other things. The media released information about this investigation once it came out in 2009, but very little information was disseminated after that until now. This is because the NCAA has finally made a decision as to what the punishment will be for the University of Miami. 

The NCAA decided to not ban the Miami Hurricanes from any bowl games, but has decided to take away some scholarships for football and basketball. They are taking away three scholarships from football and one from basketball each year for the next three years. This will total to nine scholarships lost in the football program and three in basketball. The NCAA weighed heavily the fact that The University of Miami decided to self-impose penalties while the investigation was going on when making their final decision. Miami put a two year bowl ban on themselves, and limited the number of scholarships they were giving out while this situation was being investigated.

It was interesting how the media released information about the case when it first came out in 2009, but then it faded away until now when the NCAA finally made a decision. I think the media stayed out of the issue because The University of Miami did a great job with their crisis management plan, and took control of the situation from the beginning. They self-imposed what could seem to be harsh punishments on themselves during the investigation to show how they are taking this seriously. There has been a lot of negative talk on social media sites like twitter saying that they think the NCAA let Miami off too easily for what they did. Schools like USC are making their disapproval with the decision known because they were hit hard with punishments from the NCAA in 2010. One thing that happened to USC is that they had 30 scholarships taken away from them while Miami only lost a total of 12. There has been a lot of talk about how the NCAA slapped Miami on the wrist and did not decide on a harsh enough punishment. However, the NCAA defends their decision by stating that they took into consideration their compliance and self-imposed punishments during the investigation.

Like we learned in class, you have to have a good crisis management plan in place because you never know when something unexpected is going to come about. Miami did a great job in managing this scandal, and because of that was rewarded with a lighter punishment from the NCAA. I think this will be something that other schools start to implement into their crisis management plan because it makes the school look good for owning what happened and dealing with it immediately. Even on Miami's website they have a link labeled NCAA Investigation. Under this link you can stay up to date with the investigation and the process of it. By including that on their site I believe they used the media to their benefit. Miami did a great job making sure they controlled the situation so the media could not bury the school in the scandal.

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Analysis by Ben Eidle in SRM 334 (section 1)

Nevin Shapiro is a former booster of the University of Miami. He is no longer a booster because he was violating NCAA rules by providing special benefits to athletes in multiple sports. Shapiro gave athletes access to his yacht and he also paid for certain things that athletes wanted. The investigation by the NCAA began in 2009 and all of a sudden the case resurfaced this past week when the NCAA released their punishment for the University.

This case has a lot to do with crisis management and how it was handled by the University of Miami. The reason for this is because during the investigation stage the story was not talked about much on many media sources compared to other scandals at other similar institutions. There are many reasons that the media could have been ignoring this story that was going on for over two years.

The first thing that I can think of for the media talking about the story for a short period of time is because these types of cases come out about schools a decent amount of time. Improper benefits are given out at schools and they end up being caught. Even though this case was an extreme of improper benefits because they were given out over an eight year period they were still the benefits which may have caused the media not to care.

The next thing that I believe kept the media away from this story is because of the way the university handled the situation internally. The university properly reported what had occurred to the NCAA and continued with their own investigation into the subject matter. They then quickly placed self-imposed sanctions on themselves. These sanctions they put on themselves were unique because they were the harshest self-imposed sanctions a school has given to date. With the postseason bans for football and the reduction of scholarships the media reported this and then it died. I believe this occurred because I feel like the media had the idea that the sanctions were so significant that they did not feel a lot more was going to happen. The crisis management team made proper choices when dealing with the sanctions but they also made sure that they were saying the proper things when necessary. The university was making sure that they were keeping the public updated on what was going on with the case. This takes away from the necessity of the media because if a story is being reported from the main source then it is unnecessary to have the media report on it.

Another thought about the sanctions that the NCAA handed out has to do with the media as well. Usually when a story is being followed a person notices that the penalties are very large. The media was not covering this story as much as others have been. Even though this may not be true the NCAA may be influence by the media because the attention each individual case is given. For example, when USC was receiving their sanctions from the NCAA for the Reggie Bush problem they were being covered all of the time. The sanctions for USC turned out to be some of the worst sanctions given out to a school. The NCAA may have seen that this case was being covered heavily and that may have pressured them into showing everybody they are a strong governing body and over penalized the school. Since Miami was not being covered as much there was no pressure in giving out sanctions that were very large.

Since the NCAA released their sanctions the media has been debating whether or not that the penalties given out were bad enough. This hot topic is important because there are schools that have done less and received more. Also, there are people that believe because Miami put such strict sanctions on their own the NCAA lightened up on the penalties that they were going to give. The debate with the media has grown tremendously since it was first discussed. It has been a topic on social media recently with many different people voicing their opinions from newspaper columnists to fans. All of this shows how powerful the media can be when presenting certain topics.