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Journalist vs. Athlete Debate Is Overanalyzed

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By @Terri7589

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

There has been much talk about Seattle Seahawks’ Marshawn Lynch not being open when talking to the media. A few weeks ago, Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook gave a Lynch-esque interview where he answered nearly every question with ‘execution.’

The general consensus is that either the athlete is wrong for refusing to speak, or the journalist is wrong for trying to force the athlete to do something they don’t want to do. In this situation, however, there is no right or wrong.

The case can be made that for athletes, interviews are part of their job. Being available to the media is in their contract, and they are fined when they choose not to do it. It is the same as being reprimanded for not completing a task in any regular job. If a person is satisfied with not completing the task and therefore accepting of the punishment that comes with it, who are people to say that is wrong?

Athletes have now decided to avoid the fines altogether by haphazardly completing the requirement. In the end, athletes know that no matter what they say, journalists will spin it how they see fit whether one-word answers or paragraph-long ones are given.

From a journalist’s standpoint, interviews are also a part of their jobs. They will continue to push to get answers so they can do their jobs of writing articles that people will want to read. Journalists in general receive a lot of flak for writing pieces with an unpopular opinion, and it does not make their jobs any easier when they get somewhat disrespected for trying to do their jobs.

Having athletes, especially those who are popular, essentially tell the world that they don’t take your job seriously makes that job even more difficult. Adding fuel to the fire is when everyone else publicly demeans journalists for trying to do their job.

Where everyone is wrong in this argument is in over-analyzing what transpires between the silent athlete and the journalist. The athlete, who believes their talking is done out on the field or the court, does not feel the need to recap what everyone has already seen. The journalist, who is attempting to find an angle for a story, wants nothing more than to get a few sound bites to complete an assignment.

Journalists may push too hard and athletes may put up too much of a fight, but at the end of the day, both are just trying to do their job.

Terri Washington is a Los Angeles Clippers writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow her on Twitter @Terri7589, “Like” her on Facebook or add her to your network on Google.

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