Prominent professional athletes being given a platform to speak is nothing new. Members of the media have always wanted to quote the best of the best. It lends authority and credibility to their work in a way that it may not have otherwise.
What is different though is what those platforms look like. Previously, it may have been a locker room or a formal interview. The teams may have been involved in the process to make sure the players represented themselves well. Sure, there were still some players who were perhaps more candid than others, but it looks nothing like today.
The ways in which players disseminate their feelings and thoughts are radically different. There are still press conferences and locker room interviews, but there are also Twitch streams, podcasts, and tweets.
Somehow, players can act media trained within the confines of the arena, but once they step outside, they’re liable to say whatever enters their head.
And traditional media, like ESPN, has allotted time to these new platforms. Often, nothing about what happens or what is said on these podcasts or streams is particularly newsworthy. Yet the media sees it as an opportunity to generate attention for themselves.
This brings us to the recent back-and-forth between Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown and ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith. The saga goes as follows. On a Twitch stream following the Celtics first round loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, Brown commented that this season was his “favorite year” of his career.
This drew immediate criticism. How could Brown say that this was his favorite year when he had previously won a title? Was it his favorite becasue of the absence of fellow star Jayson Tatum, which allowed Brown to have a bigger role?
Speculation swirled about the comments which probably should have just been brushed aside as offseason fodder. Yet, ESPN latched onto the idea, building a segment of the show First Take around it.
On it, Smith scorned Brown for his comments, which then prompted Brown to create his own response to Smith’s comments. The two continued to feud, arguing about what is essentially nothing. The only interesting piece of note about the whole debacle is how the two argued. It was over social media and Twitch.
Because of how easy it is to get clips from a Twitch stream or studio show, coupled with the additional ease of social media, this feud was quickly consumed by the internet.
Some of the absurdity of this fiasco highlights just how fast these player-driven platforms have grown and become commonplace. There’s nothing inherently wrong with them. In fact, some give interesting insights into a player’s mind, which traditional media may not be to do.
But sometimes they seem superficial and unneeded. When a player has a podcast that uploads regularly during the season, it’s all fine and well until that player, or team, starts to underperform. For example, Paul George faced this conundrum.
These new media platforms give the audience a new lens to view players as they are more unfiltered. But that raw, unfiltered content can lead to situations like the one Brown created.
Was Brown trying to subtly suggest that he enjoyed the extra touches that Tatum being hurt afforded him? I’m not sure, but the likelihood that this was his intent isn’t impossible.
If this was the case, then Brown was engaging in a bit of narrative building. He was trying to push the notion that he liked having a team all to himself. Possibly insinuating that he would like to be traded to a team where he has the reins.
Again, I think Brown likely wasn’t trying to do this, and I would be surprised if he was dealt this summer by the Celtics. But other players have been criticized for using these platforms to mold the story that the media is telling.
Unsurprisingly, LeBron James is the target of much criticism. He has meticulously crafted a discussion around his legacy and his place in NBA history—this is not some sort of secret. This can be abrasive to some consumers, who, frankly, may not care much for James to begin with.
Player-driven media is a tool for athletes and a way for them to better connect with fans. It isn’t your traditional sports journalism or sports media. And perhaps this should be remembered more often.
ESPN wasn’t necessarily wrong to build a segment around Brown’s comments, but what Brown said was just that: comments. Maybe not everything said on these alternative forms of media should be considered part of some grand scheme.
