SPORTS MEDIA: FIVE WHO GET IT, FIVE WHO DON’T
A weekly analysis of the best and worst in sports media from a multimedia content prince — thousands of columns, TV debates, radio shows, podcasts — who receives angry DMs from media burner accounts
THEY GET IT
Jimmy Kimmel, ABC — Rather than light the cauldron at the virus-infested Tokyo Games, I have an idea: Let’s have Kimmel repeat his definitive words about an ill-advised Olympiad that is proceeding recklessly. ‘‘NBC is planning to move forward with the Olympics this summer, even if they have to kill every last person in Japan to do it,’’ said the comedian, darkly. Of course, his Disney employers would make the same mega-billions money grab if they had rights to these Games, but at least Kimmel is calling out a rival for its shameful embrace of an event when Japan’s vaccination rate is only 10 percent. It’s more than we’re seeing and hearing from the mainstream U.S. sports media, where cancel-the-Games outcry has been minimal because, oh, many of the journalists assigned to Tokyo don’t want to rankle U.S. and international Olympic officials — or the bosses spending money to send them. I’ve covered 14 Olympiads. There is a media blacklist, and at some point, I’m sure I was on it. And proud of it. Let The Games Die! … so the Japanese people don’t.
Scottie Pippen, author — A bitter, seething man is writing a tell-all. And he is promoting it by firing poisonous missiles at everyone in sight, referring to Phil Jackson as a racist for granting Toni Kukoc the final shot over a jilted Pippen in an infamous 1994 playoff moment. You don’t have to agree with what he says — Pippen, I might argue, is a racist himself — but last I looked, Jackson has written plenty of material about the long-ago Bulls dynasty after setting up reporting buddy Sam Smith for a book. Michael Jordan has lorded over a self-inflated documentary, as well. Even Dennis Rodman wrote a book. So why can’t Pippen finally air his views? It’s sad that basketball’s greatest dynasty continues to deteriorate into open hostility, including Pippen’s claim that Jordan was disingenous in 1997 when he said in a huddle that Steve Kerr should be ready for a pass that led to a title-winning jumper. ‘‘You know all those cameras sitting in the huddle, who they was working for? You know who Michael was speaking to when he said that? That was planned. That was speaking to the camera,’’ Pippen told Dan Patrick on his book-selling tour. ‘‘Had John Stockton not came down, trust me, (Jordan would have shot). That was building his own documentary because he was controlling the cameras …That was not naturally spoken. That was rehearsed.’’ Pippen once stared at me inside New York’s Plaza Hotel, in an elevator with several relatives, and asked, ‘‘Why are you such an asshole?’’ He is one of the most unlikable major stars in the history of American sports, but you can’t say he isn’t a fascinating character. Suddenly, I can’t wait for his book.
Marc Stein, Substack — Welcome to the literary freedom train, Marc. Any writer weary of interest-conflicted bosses, editorial suppression, political leanings, corporate b.s., misleading headlines — I could go on — can find a refreshing, liberating experience at Substack, where Stein is joining other big names and leaving behind the mighty New York Times. This is the new place for self-sustaining, business-leery/weary journalists to control their destinies without interference, as the veteran NBA insider said, tweeting to readers, ‘‘This was an irresistible opportunity to cover the league I have tracked for nearly 30 years in a fresh and groundbreaking way ... thanks to this deliciously blank canvas, total independence and the closest connection possible to you.’’ I’ve been at Substack for a few months, writing columns four times a week. My only regret is not joining sooner as a labor of love. In Stein’s case, he’s looking to cash in, via subscriptions, with his NBA newsletter. There are options in this industry, folks. Don’t get stuck in a race to see who croaks first: you or your newspaper. Or, you or your website.
‘‘The Shop: Uninterrupted,’’ HBO — Say this for LeBron James and his partner in Hollywood multimedia crime, Maverick Carter: They have a way of making subjects relax and forget they’re on camera, leading to some of the most revealing interviews in sports television. On a studio set of barber chairs and honest banter, Tom Brady opened a side rarely seen, dropping F-bombs and exposing his frustration with an unnamed NFL franchise that rejected him in free agency. ‘‘One of the teams, they weren’t interested at the very end. I was thinking, you’re sticking with that motherf—-er?’’ Brady said. Was it the 49ers and Jimmy Garoppolo? The Bears and Mitchell Trubisky? The Raiders and Derek Carr? Point is, this program always makes news, and while it unfortunately furthers the concept of athletes helping athletes control their messages, we’d rather hear the raw truth than empty nothings.
Trevor Rabin, TNT — So the song sounds like a mashup of an old Western TV theme and a nightly news jingle. For the millions who love “Inside The NBA,’’ the music is effective — and, in a complete shocker, it was created by the former guitarist of the anthem rock band Yes. As profiled by Sopan Deb in the New York Times, Rabin was asked to compose the show theme by Turner Sports executive Craig Barry, who wanted something that viewers ‘‘never get sick of hearing.’’ If I still like it after 18 years, the song works. Listen closely, and you’ll hear subtle strains of the Yes classic, ‘‘Owner of a Lonely Heart.’’ Host Ernie Johnson, a Yes fan, had no idea Rabin wrote the music. It’s time for panelists Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal and Kenny Smith, after all these years, to publicly thank Rabin, who said, ‘‘I remember Shaq saying once he liked the theme just in passing, but no one’s ever acknowledged me. Charles Barkley needs to acknowledge it and give a shout out. Otherwise, I’m never going to support him again.” He was kidding, I think.
THEY DON’T GET IT
Jalen Rose, ESPN — Sometimes, comments are so recklessly misguided that subsequent apologies fade in the stench. My one-time radio partner let racial anger take over his brain when he said Kevin Love, who is white, was named to the U.S. Olympic team ‘‘because of tokenism.’’ Said Rose: ‘‘Don’t be scared to make an all-black team representing the United States of America. I’m disappointed by that.’’ I’m not defending Love, whose career has plunged into semi-irrelevance, as much I’m challenging Rose to be accurate. Of the last five U.S. men’s basketball teams, four were all-black. It doesn’t appear team boss Jerry Colangelo and his staff have been ‘‘scared’’ of much through time. ‘‘You know why I’m apologizing right now? To the game. Because I’m what the game made me," Rose said. He should apologize to his smarter self — and his prime-time audience — for not doing simple research.
Tony Paul, Detroit News — When an active NFL player decides to come out publicly as gay, his request for privacy should be honored. Let Carl Nassib determine when he’ll speak to the media, as seconded by Cyd Zeigler of the LGBTQ+ site Outsports, who tweeted: ‘‘I’ve been told by many people that mainstream sports and news pubs are trying to get the first #carlnassib interview. He asked for privacy and many publications are reaching out to talk. And people wonder why I say the media is a huge part of keeping athletes in the closet.’’ His view didn’t sit well with Paul, who is gay himself and fired back, ‘‘Ummm, journalists’ job is to try to get the interview and the story. All he can say is no. … Trying to get the story is the definition of journalism.’’ In Nassib’s case, journalists aren’t chasing a scandal or browbeating a politician — or, as Zeigler tweeted back at Paul, ‘‘This isn’t the Pentagon Papers.’’ When the man is ready to talk, presumably next month at Las Vegas Raiders camp, we’ll be all ears. Besides, I’m not hearing widespread clamor to hear from Nassib anytime soon, his announcement drowned out by rumors that Aaron Rodgers wants a trade to Vegas.
Chicago Sun-Times — Rocky Wirtz, who owns the NHL’s Blackhawks, continues to supply blood for a dying newspaper with his periodic contributions. So it should surprise no one that the Sun-Times, after The Athletic and local radio station WBEZ did the heaviest original reporting, didn’t include Wirtz’s name when it finally got around to covering sexual-assault allegations against former Blackhawks video coach Bradley Aldrich. How convenient to piggyback media reports that ‘‘then-president John McDonough, general manager Stan Bowman, executive Al MacIsaac and skills coach James Gary’’ knew about the allegations and did nothing — but to not include Wirtz among the accountable parties or even bother to contact him for a comment. The one column written about the case also failed to mention Wirtz, whose son, Danny, announced the franchise had hired a law firm to lead an ‘‘independent review’’ of the matter. You can’t call yourself ‘‘the hardest-working paper in America,’’ then stop working to protect the rich, old dude who keeps the staff gainfully employed. Wirtz will shut down the paper at some point anyway, so you may as well go down swinging instead of suppressing news and faking it.
‘‘First Take,’’ ESPN — Stealing from the Charles Barkley hate handbook, hosts Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim Rose took needless shots at the city of Milwaukee for attention purposes. Normally a measured sort, Qerim Rose (Jalen’s wife) was particularly annoying, expressing glee that she didn’t cover Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis while grouping Milwaukee among her ‘‘terrible cities.’’ Now, Smith (and perhaps Qerim Rose) could be spending significant time in the Upper Midwest during the NBA Finals, where the locals will target them and force them to stay in their hotel rooms, which is no way to enjoy a Wisconsin summer. It’s one thing to have fun with a city, quite another to make fun of it.
Eric Shanks, Fox — The CEO of the network’s sports division repeatedly has signed off on digital sites in recent years, only to encounter repeated complications that suggest dysfunctional leadership. The latest iteration of FoxSports.com included a ‘‘fully reimagined’’ site and app last summer, but hints of major content hires haven’t happened, and digital boss David Katz is departing in September. Shanks had a chance to enhance his brand with a go-to, all-encompassing site; evidently, he didn’t see a chance for big revenues beyond sports gambling. Let’s hope Fox chief Lachlan Murdoch didn’t re-direct his digital money in acquiring the ‘‘Outkick’’ site, which is more a right-wing reflection of Clay Travis’ views than a legitimate sports destination. There’s something hollow about a sports network that pours all its creative might into TV production, then flees from additive fuel. And, yes, I chatted with the site about writing a column, only to be told no after ripping Skip Bayless here for being Skip Bayless. For me, it was a worthwhile tradeoff.
Jay Mariotti, called ‘‘the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes a weekly media column for Barrett Sports Media and regular sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts in production today. He’s an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and radio talk host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects. Compensation for this column is donated to the Chicago Sun-Times Charity Trust.