Professional Athletes And Athletes

One of the hot topics today in the world of sports media centers around the relationship between sports journalists and athletes of various sports. In recent years, sports media has come under fire and found itself the victim of verbal attacks from athletes. Athletes fed up with having to speak to the media, have begun somewhat of a campaign against the media by speaking out against them. The media has always been a controversial entity, but sports media has for the most part been viewed as the lesser enemy and the reason sports have gotten as big as they are today. While the media has had a significant impact on the mass exposure of the athletic industry, both parties would tremendously benefit from a non-committal working relationship. The major sports in the United States today are football, basketball and baseball. In each professional league, the NBA, NFL and MLB, they have media policies in their guidelines which mandate players make themselves available to the media before practice and games

He wrote an article titled, “Do Professional Athletes Have an obligation to Speak with the Media?” In his article, his short answer to the question should athletes have to talk to the media is a simple yes. According to Ostiller, speaking with the media is part of an athlete’s job and athletes knew what they were getting themselves into when they signed their lucrative contracts. Ostiller’s approach to the topic is also from a fan perspective stating, “For a certain fan, that’s an important window into a player and provides the sort of relationship he or she craves.” In Ostiller’s argument, he believes that with money comes fame and with fame comes actually interacting with those who made you famous. Through the eyes and mind of Ostiller, it is the duty and privilege for athletes to speak to the media and simply giving back to those who gave so much to them can be achieved by speaking with the