NFL hopefuls try to gain attention of league via YouTube

From Yahoo! Sports and Fox Sports

Analysis by Cory McCagh in SRM 334 (section 2)

Last year there were 254 collegiate athletes selected in the 2013 NFL Draft. After their college season ends, some players are invited to participate in front of NFL scouts at combines and camp workouts. For under the radar players trying to make their way into the NFL, players have started using social media sources such as Youtube to gain the attention of scouts. Rather than work out for scouts in person, displaying their overall skills, players have started using Youtube to market a particular skill. Youtube has developed a way for players to go from being completely unknown to Youtube celebrities in a span of a few weeks. Youtube is one of the most popular websites on the Internet, reaching over one billion users a month and it is a great spotlight for unknown players to get their name out to NFL scouts.

Essentially these players are relying on Youtube users to view their video until it becomes popular enough to be seen by NFL teams. Alex Tanney had just finished his senior season at Monmouth, a Division III school, and was not invited to the NFL combine or expected to be drafted by any teams. Tanney, along with a few friends, made a five minute video composed of the D-III quarterback making spectacular trick shots. After quickly becoming Youtube famous with now over 3 million views, the video made it around the league and Tanney was invited to attend the rookie minicamps of multiple teams. Norwegian player, Harvard Rugland, put together an impressive enough kicking video to convince NFL scouts to invite someone for a tryout who had never even played a real football game in their life. Youtube has presented low profile players with a way to make NFL teams more interested in them in a matter of a few minutes than they were throughout their entire season.

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Analysis by Cody Fazenbaker in SRM 334 (section 2)

Havard Rugland, a 28-year old from Norway, has recently become an internet sensation with a video he posted on YouTube. Having never played a game of football before, he was able to catch the attention of NFL scouts and coaches in a video displaying a wide variety of kicking skills that Rugland possesses. After seeing the video, the Detroit Lions contacted Rugland and offered him a try-out.

From a media and communications standpoint, this was a very smart and successful move from Rugland. He had never played football before and knows nearly nothing about the rules and yet was contacted by multiple NFL teams. Without using social media like YouTube, his skills and ability would have gone unnoticed. By placing the video online, it was able to spread quickly to millions of people. As the 4-minute video gained popularity, it started to reach members of different NFL teams who immediately took an interest in Rugland. The media also became aware of the video, and Rugland earned himself an interview on Good Morning America and a long article in the New York Times.Without the use of YouTube and other social media sites, Havard Rugland would not be who he is today. He would not have had these opportunities presented to him. This article is relevant to this Sports Media course because Havard used the media to get exposure and become recognized globally. In this digital era, he was able to use technology to his advantage and become successful. If he wasn’t able to put this video online, it’s safe to say that not nearly this many people would recognize his name.

"Special Report on Oklahoma State Football: The Overview"

From Sports Illustrated

Analysis by Graham Sharples in SRM 334 (section 1)

On Tuesday, September 10 2013, Sports Illustrated began the release of a five part series of their findings after a 10-month investigation on the Oklahoma State football program. Their special report examined violations that occurred within the OSU football program from 2000-2011. After receipt of information of possible corruption at the university, SI senior writers George Dohrmann and Thayer Evans sought to speak with more than a hundred individuals, which included 64 former Cowboys. All of these players spoke on the record and shed light on the extreme measures OSU took to build a winning program. The 5 part series that SI released detailed individually all the accounts of corruption through money, academics, drugs, and even sex.

Though the investigation covered a decade of NCAA violations committed by OSU, only recently were these transgressions revealed. The media, Sports Illustrated being the main source, played a huge role in highlighting the extreme measures taken by the program and also the damages that resulted from them. It all began from a leak of information given to these two reporters and consequently an investigation began in attempts to obtain more information. They used available resources by techniques of communication through interviews to individuals with ties to the university in order to gain insight about the corruption within the program. From that Sports Illustrated created a five series special report that detailed their findings and started their release on September 10 and titled the whole series “The Dirty Game.” The five parts were named: the Money, The Academics, The Drugs, The Sex and The Fallout. The violations that OSU committed aren’t uncommon in regards to big-time college sports programs especially in specifics to the acceptance of money or academic dishonesty, but one of the most troubling aspects of this case that the media wanted to emphasize was the collateral damages to humans that were also exploited by the university. Sports Illustrated looked to not only investigate these allegations against OSU but also the impact that it had on the players. They exposed how many of these players that were involved in this scandal were basically “cast aside.” Consistently from the interviews, the players exposed how their experience in university didn’t build them up for the future but their involvement with the corrupt football program left them with next to nothing. Some players were even kicked out, stripped away of their scholarships and returning to environments they believed to be done with.

Sports Illustrated took a very strategic approach to this case by releasing their results in an investigative series on all SI platforms. The fact that they decided to release it in individual parts makes the story much more appealing and intriguing. The main reason why this story is now such a big issue is due to the investigation that Sports Illustrated conducted. Since the release of the story there have been multiple press releases, news conferences and interviews investigating in depth of the allegations uncovered by SI.
The relevancy to this course rests in the techniques that Sports Illustrated used in order to present their story. Specifically, the amounts of time spent in creating this story as well as the amount of promotional work used to market the OSU scandal as well, not to mention the press release prior to the five segments were set to release. The story itself was set to release on multiple platforms, first on their website and then all together in a published magazine to increase their coverage. Sports Illustrated through the release of this story has profoundly affected both the university’s reputation as a football program as well as the players involved. They looked to not only exploit the deceit and disingenuousness of the school but also invited the audience and SI readers to feel empathy with the players who were deemed no longer useful to the program.

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Analysis by Austin Hersh in SRM 334 (section 1)

In this article Sports Illustrated investigators bring to light the foul play that occurred during Les Miles and Mike Gundy’s tenders as head coach of Oklahoma State University football. In the article you will find that there was everything from failed drug tests, sex provided to recruits, and money payments for good play.

The investigators found it odd for OSU to go from a, “big school stepping stone” to a major contender for a national championship in such a short period of time. Sports Illustrated interviewed 64 former Cowboys and received stories of players failing multiple drug tests with no repercussions. Many players would receive drugs for free and some on the team were dealing drugs as well. This lack of authority in these young men’s lives led many to drug abuse and some to end up in prison after leaving Clear Water. Payments for good play and sex provided to big name recruits seemed to be something of the norm in the OSU football community and as long as wins were rolling in, figures of authority seemed to turn a blind eye.

After life as head coach for OSU, Les Miles went on to create a powerhouse in Baton Rouge for LSU. With no consequences for his actions and how he ran his programs he now has more power and more tools at his fingertips to create champions on the field and rake in the cash for the university. What was interesting is that while all of this did occur, that SI decided to investigate years later. The investigation will do nothing but tarnish a once proud school and once proud program. Players with no association to the regime that caused so much pain now have to represent a legacy they did not sign up for.. Being a former college athlete and in speaking with former and current athletes at universities all around the country I still find it amusing to hear stories such as this one. Foul play occurs at programs all around the nation and it seems to be accepted that in order to succeed, “if you aren’t cheating, you aren’t trying.” While I understand it is the nature of the media beast to find dirt any way possible, I feel that the majority of fans do not realize that this sort of thing has been happening for decades and will never go away. Coaches will always give players/ recruits whatever it takes to keep food on their tables. OSU might be the latest on the long list of scandal ridden programs but the surface has only just been scratched.

"Ryan Braun's Dirty Deed"

From Slate

Analysis by Patrick Arnold in SRM 334 (section 1)

The topic we chose for our current event covers the use of performance enhancing drugs in the MLB, with our presentation mainly focusing on Ryan Braun. We will take an in depth look at each event that happened and its outcome during a long and grueling process. The use of PEDs in baseball seems to be a common trend in today’s game, resulting in continuous speculation of cheating from the game’s biggest stars.

Evolution is happening everywhere around us. Should we accept the fact that new supplements are allowing us, as fans of the game, witness exciting feats that we have never seen before? Back in the early 2000s, many of the game’s sluggers were taking banned substances. Ratings at that time were at an all time high, with balls being hit over 500 feet and numerous 50+ homerun seasons. . Some of those substances weren’t banned from the league’s drug policy at the time, so was it wrong or unethical? At that time we did not know any better, speculation isn’t what it is like now. Sadly, our society views most accomplishments within the game as something that was unjust because of previous incidents. We’ve seen great efforts from Major League Baseball to try and clean up the game in the past five to six years. Braun’s actions have even more exemplified why professional baseball is in such a dark hole right now.

On August 22nd Braun finally issued a statement admitting his guilt. Was this 944 word statement enough? This was nearly a month after MLB suspended him for 65 games - the remainder of the 2013 season. The way he attacked innocent people, along with the overdose of denial to media and fans makes it hard for the average Brewers fan to oversee the past. Especially for someone who enjoyed watching his 2011 MVP campaign, which led to a contract extension with an annual salary of $10 million through 2020. The organization is in trying times right now being 21 games back in their division with the face of their franchise looking to regain the trust of everyone around him.
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Analysis by Jeremy Cappert in SRM 334 (section 1)

No matter your level of involvement, sports play a major role in many people’s lives on a daily basis. Catching the latest news and highlights via ESPN, reading blips with the recent advent of sports apps, or public opinion on Twitter, we are fortunate enough to have more information at our hands than ever before. As we see in developing cases such as with Ryan Braun, the reliance on media sources at all levels for timely news is beyond measure, but can we always trust what we hear and whom we hear it from?

The chronicle of Ryan Braun first began in early October of 2011 when he was selected for a random drug test. As a result of this test, Braun tested positive for the use of Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) and with it began the two-year long stint of questioning and validation of media, fan, and athlete controversy. In December of 2011, ESPN and Yahoo released news of Braun testing positive which led to his appeal of a 50 game suspension in January of 2012. As of February 23rd, 2012, Braun won his appeal with a 2/3rds majority vote, the first ever in MLB history. Backed by thousands of loyal fans that proudly wore the number 8 in Miller Park and most notably, close friend and QB of the Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rodgers, it seemed as though justice had finally been reached. However, much to their dismay, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

In February of 2013, an article from Yahoo Sports linked Biogenesis, the same company who assisted Rodriguez and various MLB players to Ryan Braun. Finally, on July 22nd, 2013, Braun’s appeal was overturned and he was ultimately suspended for the remainder of the season (65 games). Consequently, the feeling of betrayal towards the many that backed him over the ordeal was astounding, most notably leading to jersey alterations changing Braun’s name to “Fraud.”

What can we learn from the controversy following the Milwaukee Brewer’s Ryan Braun? First and foremost is the importance of media to present proper facts. We see in this case especially, no matter the likeability of a person, their actions speak louder than any public statement they can make. The once MVP will most likely forever be tainted for the remainder of his career because of his own choices. As a result of his perpetual lying, Braun was made an example of. His fixation on being innocent lead to further investigation and report by the MLB and media in order to reveal the truth. The fact that he brought so many into a personal ordeal and negatively affected them is absolutely astounding. A Brewer’s teammate, Zack Greinke stated,

"Just the fact that he was willing to use anyone that got in his path. The closer you were to him, the more he would use you. It's just disappointing that a human being could be like that" (Mark Townsend).

Now faced with distrust from the Brewer’s organization, the MLB as whole, and countless fans, he is tasked with an uphill battle to restore any character and credibility that may be salvageable. Going forward, we as students in SRM 334 should take away the fact that deal media will either make or break you. Societies’ tenacity for reliable information will forever be the motivation behind media to provide up-to-date coverage of the latest stories and it is our responsibility as students in this field to provide it.