Third Party Communication

Back on June 19th Pat Riley, team president of the Miami Heat, issued a challenge through the media to his three star players. It seemed a shot across the bow if you will excuse the naval term. He got a little Heat-ed (see what I did there) and called on the big three to stick with the team and see things through. He compared this years set back, at adding to the Miami trophy case, to the L.A. Lakers of the 1980's with their five championships in twelve years. That is seven years with no trophies. Currently with LeBron at the helm the heat have had two championships in four years. That seems like a pretty decent average to me, so maybe Pat has a point when he says everyone from media to players need to get a grip.

That has been the most interesting thing about this situation, how everyone involved seems to be using the media to communicate. Pat Riley tells the press that they and his stable of thoroughbreds need to be patient. LeBron on the 24th announced through his agent that he will be opting out of his contract. On the surface it would seem that the two are not getting along but I have a hunch that there is more than meets the eye here. Maybe LeBron is giving Pat Riley a chance to show his hand. In essence he is saying "show me what you are going to do to make it worth my time to stay." Opting out of his contract could be beneficial to the heat as well. This way they can make some room for additional help on the team by asking LeBron, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh to take a little less money. (Wade and Bosh are expected to opt out as well.)

Doesn't it seem a little bizarre that we have to watch this all unfold as if the concerned parties aren't talking to each other without the help of the press. But then it occurs to me that we wouldn't be spending nearly the amount of time on this that we are unless we could stir up some drama. What else is there to talk about right now. World Cup soccer?

Klinnsman's Kommunication

The current manager for the U.S. Men's National soccer team (USMNT) Jurgen Klinsmann , made a pretty inflammatory statement prior to any team stepping onto a pitch in the hot and humid, loud and lurid República Federativa do Brasil. Well...inflammatory to anyone who didn't agree with him but the trouble was most Americans did agree with him. At least those who care about soccer or at the very least don't hate it. 

“...for us talking about winning a World Cup, it’s just not realistic...Today, even before the World Cup starts, to say we should win? It's just not realistic." Washington Post

American sports enthusiasts aren't used to the coach laying down the honest truth as he sees it. We are used to the coach speak that is supposed to insulate from being wrong while implying the potential to be right. "if we give it our all and everything falls into place it should be a competitive game." No duh, coach! I don't have to be a sports expert to know that if both teams show up one of them is likely to win. It is a little irritating to hear sports interviews and feel like you just wasted 5 minutes becasue you recieved no new information.

That is why I like Mr. Klinsmann's style. The USMNT escaped the group of death with a win, a loss, a tie, and a bit of help from Ghana. Now that the team has actually proven something he is voicing a little more confidence in their abilities.

 "No one expected us to get out of the group, they said we had no chance, but we took that chance and we move on and now we want to prove a point." Fox Sports

Now, I know winning the World Cup and escaping group play are two very different things but to listen to a coach who has realistic expectations and provides encouragement and optimism based on results is rather refreshing.

Little Jimmy is gonna support me in my bitter old age.

(slate.com)

 

I love participating in sports. When I was young I enjoyed playing soccer, and little league baseball. Later in Jr. High I participated in football, basketball, wrestling and  threw shot put and discus on the track team. In high school I ran cross country and excelled as a wrestler. In all that time my parents never once yelled at me or my coaches or the refs, at least not that I can remember. They tried to be present at most of my games, meets, and matches and when they weren't they expressed remorse for not being able to come. I never felt pressure from them to succeed, in fact I broke my leg playing JV football as a freshman but my parents waited three weeks to take me to the doctor because they thought I just didn't want to play anymore. I had a very supportive environment to be able to learn to enjoy sport and the only pressure I felt was what I put on myself. I never saw my parents or my friends parents fly off the handle when things didn't go our way like these parents in Colorado.

I can, however, vividly remember the wrestling coach from another school screaming at a wrestler on his own team during a match. After the match was over he continued to berate him for what he did wrong. I want to say that the poor kid had actually won but I cant remember for sure. The thing that stood out to me the most was my Mom's comment later. "If he was your coach you wouldn't be wrestling." Even though I loved wrestling we were in complete agreement. I respond well to constructive criticism and the occasional butt-chewing but constantly yell and scream at me and I'll shut down. Besides, I was pretty sure that I wasn't going to be an athlete in college (much like the other 98% of high school athletes) so I was there mostly to do my best and have fun, and my parents adopted the role of cheering me on. 

My dad was very athletic growing up too. He was an outstanding pitcher, played on the basketball and football teams at Bingham High in the Salt Lake Valley and even placed at the BYU invitational track meet in shot put as a 9th grader. The one story he told that has stuck with me since I heard it had to do with an abusive coach. He was pitching and his coach was apparently not to happy with my dads performance. My dad seemed to think that the criticism was unjustified because at the point where he'd had enough he walked from the mound to the backstop, climbed the chain link, and plopped himself down in the stands. It was the end of his time on the team. The point I took from this experience was that when you stop having fun playing sports its time to hang up the cleats.

One of the things I appreciated the most was my parents attitude about my participation. I can't recall a single time they corrected me after a game or match. There was no film review or criticism of any kind. They just supported me. They never came out and said "I love watching you play" but I could tell they were enjoying my enjoyment and sharing my frustration. In fact my most poingnant moment in my sports career happened with my dad. I had just walked off the mat after losing in the championship match of the State wrestling tournament. I found a place to be alone, punched a table, and started crying.  Six months of anticipation erupted from my eyes and nose in recognition of a goal left unaccomplished. Within seconds my dad was hugging me and not saying a word. I greatly appreciate now the way my parents helped me to interpret sports and their role in life. I only hope I can do the same for my kids.

Hey brother, can you spare a dime?

The amount of money that trades hands in any commercially viable sport enterprise is staggering.The NFL is the most lucrative league in the world with a revenue for 2013 at just over 9 billion dollars. Each NFL team is worth, on average, 1.7 billion dollars. That is close to twice as much as the average worth of the top 20 soccer teams around the world (968 Million). The big money college sports aren't doing to bad themselves. When the University of Utah and the University of Colorado joined the then Pac-10 to create the Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott inked a television deal with Fox Sports that was to pay the new conference 3 Billion dollars over 12 years. In essence each team would be paid roughly 21 million a year just for being in the conference. Compare that to the U of U's 1.2 million dollar piece of the Mountain West Conference pie and you can see that they have done quite well for themselves.

In the past few years there has been an increase in the calls for NCAA athletes to be able to "get paid" while participating in their sports as "amateurs". In fairness it mainly comes from the Football and mens basketball players because they are the ones largely responsible for the large television deals, bowl game prize money, March Madness bonuses, and University endorsement deals with Nike, Reebok, Under Armour, Etc. Whenever I hear about college athletes asking to get paid I get annoyed to the point of anger. They don't have to pay for school, room and board are provided, as is world class training and medical care, AND they want to be paid too. Give me a Break. I work two jobs, go to school full time and raise a family and nobody is offering me any of the perks these athletes are given. Of course I am also not a highly talented athlete either but that is besides the point. Or is that the point

It occurs to me that I may be misunderstanding the intent of the argument. Would it be less offensive to term the plea for money differently? What if athletes were allowed to make money on themselves, like the university is doing, instead of the University paying a salary or stipend? This creates a fair market system that pays the players who are recognizable (and more profitable) and keeps the football revenue where it belongs; supporting the other sports on campus who aren't making any money like cross country skiing, swimming, and women's soccer. I would have less of a problem if the athletes were making money signing autographs and making paid public appearances than if their University had to give them yet another means of compensation. Texas A&M makes a profit on the sale of a Johnny Manzeil jersey in the bookstore so why shouldn't "Johnny Football" be able to enjoy some of the money from something like that. The jersey wouldn't be as valuable without the attachment to him. Or be allowed to spend some time signing autographs and selling those.


 
(tigerboard.com)

Another option would be to allow individual athletes to accept endorsement deals. Yes it violates "amateurism" but lets be honest, unfair advantage is a term the NCAA compliance office uses to say "they broke the rules." If they honestly think that there is an even playing field between a quarterback at the University of Alabama and the quarterback at New Mexico State they may not be sports fans or else they are delusional. While I consider the benefits enjoyed by collegiate  athletes to be excessive (as well as the benefits afforded to professional athletes, actors, and politicians) I can see the argument for allowing the top name collegiate athletes to be paid, but not by the school. 

A rose by any other name...unless its derogatory.

The past few years has seen an increase in the calls to replace the mascots of  professional sports teams and colleges who may carry racial stereotypes or promote cultural insensitivity. This is predominantly occurring where Native American tribes, nicknames, and likenesses are being used. The United States Congress and most recently the U.S. Senate have sent letters to the Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to change the name of his franchise. Several Universities have changed their mascots due to NCAA pressure on post season appearances and revenue after their mascots were deemed "hostile and offensive". USA today compiled a list in September 2013. Four schools successfully appealed and were allowed to keep their Native American nicknames. I know in the case of University of Utah that they have taken extra efforts to honor the Ute tradition and cultivate a positive relationship with the Ute Tribe. They have been very active at encouraging fans to be respectful of the Ute culture by not dressing in costumes or donning face paint meant to represent native warriors. They kept the Utes as a school nickname but the official mascot of the university is actually the red tailed hawk.

If you want to blow up the internet in Utah just suggest that the University of Utah change its nickname and drum and feather logo. Fans (and we are talking fanatics) start name calling, speculating and disparaging the Ute tribe, the university, BYU (which confuses me), the LDS church (also confusing), and anyone else who could be behind such a preposterous idea. I am going to do some speculating and generalization here but it would seem that the fans who are most upset by the idea of changing the team in anyway are not college educated and are also the same fans who pour beer on Max Halls family. These fans seem to think that by changing the University of Utah nickname and logo that a part of them is being changed as well. Their identity seems to be tied very closely to their team. It appears that they feel entitled to the cultural heritage attached to the University without actually knowing what that heritage is. 

I am a Mormon (a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and as such I do many things that are sacred to me as part of my heritage and beliefs that many people not familiar with the church wouldn't understand. It would be very uncomfortable for me to see people using any of these practices out of context and without any real understanding of their purpose and meaning. I think that is exactly what is happening with Native Americans and our sports mascots. The drum and feather, feather head-dresses, bead patterns, dances, war cries, songs and other aspects of Native American culture that the Utes and other tribes hold as sacred ought not to be flaunted and displayed carelessly. I think there is a way to celebrate Native American qualities that are respected (why would sports teams use those likenesses unless out of a form of respect) without demeaning or trivializing aspects of that culture.   

And the Oscar goes too.....

In many sports there is an element that has emerged that lends itself to much criticism. Depending on who you are pulling for in the game or match. It is present in soccer, basketball, football, I am talking about the "flop", the "sell, " hamming it up, diving, or whatever else you want to call it (faking is probably the most accurate). This is an attempt by a player to draw a penalty on his opponent by exaggerating a reaction to real or perceived contact.  The media spend a fair amount of time on flopping in basketball. I remember seeing contact exaggerated as far back as 1993 by the Pacers Reggie Miller in the NBA finals against the New York Nicks John Starks. In the NBA playoffs this year there has been some mention of even "King" James Lebron selling the foul. If you go to YouTube you can find numerous videos dedicated to the "flop." Like this one.

But nowhere is the flop more apart of the game than in soccer. It would seem that soccer players are either  super fragile and possess incredible recovery abilities or very calculating actors. In one moment a kick in the shins leaves the player writhing in agony as if his leg is broken, the next he is smiling and chasing after the ball as if nothing has happened. It creates an interesting dynamic to say the least. Professional athletes are supposed to be strong and tough. They spend hours everyday working out and have the drive and determination to be among the best in their sport. I would think that these men would be above acting as though they have been mortally wounded every time someone from the opposing team bumps into them. You hear players say that it is about gamesmanship. There is an element of gamesmanship though. In an attempt to take every advantage available the ghost foul has become apart of every basketball game and certainly every soccer game. It communicates the athletes desire to win at all costs but may come across to the fans at home, with their large flat-screen TVs and crystal clear HD programming, a willingness to cheat to gain an advantage.

Growing up and participating in sports I remember seeing several videos about good sportsmanship. One involved a player on a basketball team correcting a referee when the ball went out of bounds and the ref mistakenly gave the ball to this players team. The player knew he had been the last person to touch the ball so he let the ref know even though it may have cost his team the game. If this player had used the current flopping mentality he wouldn't have said anything and let the ref make the wrong call. I know a youth league basketball game has very little riding on it. There are no million dollar contracts or advertising deals on the line but maybe something even more valuable is on the line. If it is acceptable for top level athletes to lie about a foul at the top level of competition (which does affect million dollar contracts and advertising deals) what message is that sending our kids about little league games and life. Hopefully not what Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill are implying here.

Antithesis

The upcoming NBA Finals is a sporting event that I admit I am not a huge fan of. You can look at the pre-finals buzz here. I would be a little more interested if the Utah Jazz were playing but not much. So it's easy for me to look at this as an outsider because I truly have no horse in this race. From my indifferent perspective it is fun to categorize the two teams, the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs, as diametrically opposed. Now I know that is a bit of a generalization but there is an interesting case to be made for different team identities

In the last week or so I have heard Dan Patrick, Sage Steel and other sports media personalities refer to the Spurs as "boring" and "vanilla" while simultaneously acknowledging that the Spurs like it that way. They come to work, put their heads down and go to business. There isn't a lot of attention seeking by the players. Greg Popovich routinely takes sideline reporters to task for asking questions he deems ridiculous. He comes off as annoyed with having to deal with the media. San Antonio isn't a flashy town. I had a coworker who recently vacationed in San Antonio...on purpose! To most Americans I would assume that San Antonio ranks just below Branson Missouri as a  travel destinations but only because Branson has the Osmond's.

Miami on the other hand, is a flashy spring break kind of town. You have ocean easily accessible, a beautiful beach scene, and celebrities all over the place. If it was closer to our side of the country I know it would be high on my destination list. The Heat arguably, have the best basketball player in the league in Lebron James and the media always seem to have a story coming from the team (like a video of them getting off the bus). These two teams couldn't look more different if you tried but the problem with casting them as opposites is that they are remarkably similar as far as talent.

The Spurs have three future Hall of Famers and multiple championships. The Heat have three future Hall of famers and multiple championships. Each team has been consistently successful in the playoffs for years. Each team has a superstar anchor player and a well developed set of role players and bench players. The only difference between the teams is the identity that they have either created for themselves or been assigned by the media. The Heat are great and welcome the publicity. The Spurs are great (and defying the odds) but don't want to talk about it.    

Wait! No! You've got it all wrong!!

Dan Marino was one of the quarterbacks I tried to emulate during elementary school. Granted, I was no quarterback and most often ended up getting more exercise than action with the ball, but I looked at Marino, Montana, and Elway as superstars and when given the chance tried to play like they did. These guys seemed like football deities and even after their careers ended they way they carried themselves honored the legacies they left.

That’s why it was a little disconcerting to hear earlier this week that Dan Marino was named as a part of the lawsuit brought against the NFL over concussion cover-ups. Here was one of the greats who seemed to be looking for a handout or a cash-grab. With no indication that he was injured or suffering from the effects of concussions some media outlets expressed consternation over his inclusion in the lawsuit and speculated it had something to do with him leaving CBS as an analyst.  The very next day he released a statement saying that he was pulling his name out of the hat and claimed that he only joined the lawsuit as a way to provide for his family financially in the future just in case he ended up suffering any of the problems that other athletes have experienced. What was especially interesting to me was to see the way that the sports media world saw this initial action and then reaction.Once the sports media world heard his side of the story they then backed off it's initial speculations and then started to mildly vilify Dan for pulling out. He was danged if he did or danged if he didn't.

The lesson I have learned from all of this is that if you aren't careful about how your story gets told there are plenty of men and women with a computer and a deadline who will tell it for you and likely not the way you want it told. Even if you are careful in telling your side of the story there will be those who are skeptical of your intentions and will still try to cast you in a light of their choosing. Dan was included in the lawsuit but according to him it wasn't in an effort to collect money until he needed it medically. As soon as the story broke he was in damage control mode and responded quickly to avert the crisis and to avoid looking like a money hungry tag-along. But even in doing so some sportswriters interpreted his disavowal as a betrayal by a "big name" player who could have added greater legitimacy to the lawsuit. I also wonder if the reporters I read were trying to make news instead of report it. Editorializing is fine but to reverse the tone of the story in a complete 180 degrees in 24 hours seems a bit disingenuous.

FYI: Here are a couple of the stories I read.


http://mmqb.si.com/2014/06/03/dan-marino-nfl-concussion-lawsuit-statement/ 

http://msn.foxsports.com/florida/story/is-there-something-more-to-marino-s-withdrawal-from-concussion-suit-060314