Tough Coverage

Today’s media coverage in sports has become as powerful as the Supreme Court in regards to how players are judged, perceived, and liked. This in turn with the magnified social media practices can present numerous problems and/or benefits for teams, players, and executives. For example, take Tim Tebow and the massive coverage he gets in the media and how it alters peoples perception of him and his lifestyle. Too much media coverage has turned many fans sour and tired of hearing about him, outside of Denver and Florida of course. It is not like Tim wants this attention or needs it in order to be relevant, but whether wanted or not, media coverage holds the gavel to his perception on and off of the field.

Media coverage has become a scary truth to the power the media has on today’s athletes. Sure, some more than others only contribute to the perceptions they are casted under, but to a huge degree, anyone can turn into a bad guy as the microscope gets closer. Take a look at LeBron James and his “The Decision” announcement in leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Miami Heat. It was a media coverage gold mine for the sports industry, but a disaster for LeBron James and his brand. The coverage lead many fans to grow very angry with LeBron even though it was his decisions that lead to many fans turning sour.

This doesn’t just hold true to individual players , take a look at the sad events that have taken place at both Penn State University and Syracuse University. If not for the media coverage in the discovery of the child abuse charges at Penn State, there is a good chance that the scandals at Syracuse would not of presented themselves. This is never a happy or proud moment for our society as a whole, or a media coverage team, but it served useful nonetheless.

Sports in itself can build regular people into heros or villains. In accordance to sports, the media’s role in the development of either a hero or a zero is undoubtedly affective. This reason alone is why teams are now monitoring their players in a whole new light in order to secure their brand, players, and organizations. There is nowhere to hide in the media world, especially while players are still playing.