Kevin Durant, Greg Howard, Ramona Shelburne and the answer for the media scrum

Great stuff. Keep it coming.

 

The answer is not fewer people covering an event, it's fewer people covering an event the same way.

 

How many years ago was it that Durant was "everything that was right about the NBA"

Granted, that was everybody was knee-deep in LeBron hate, but still, it's not like this is someone who has always had a reputation for being difficult.

I get the sense that more and more events are resembling Super Bowl media day and if the players are going to judge the media based on those freak shows, it would seem perfectly logical that they hate them.

 

Who was the target of Westbrook's tirade? Whoever it was, it seemed like he was trying to throw one of his co-workers under the bus.

 

A couple of star players on a team that's not had as much success as expected lost their temper at being asked awkward (for them) questions. That's how life is, not a trend.

 

It's been heading this direction for awhile.

I'd love to see teams and leagues stop forcing players to talk. When I covered the NFL, I had to deal with a running back who talked about twice a year. I covered a baseball team where a former league MVP would almost never talk. The notion that anyone in PR would make them talk would have been laughed out of the room. I remember someone from SI coming to Spring Training that year and being told by PR, "He hasn't been talking, but you're free to take a shot."

He came back and said, "He just shot me a look, scoffed and walked away..." and one of the other beat writers said, "Well, it's good to know he doesn't just hate the local guys."

 

A question like that, even if legit, is such a no win for Durant, it's not actually about the answer. It's about showing off. "Look at me, asking the tough questions!" If Durant says "I completely support Scott Brooks" and it's a lie, you've put him in a position where he has to lie. If he doesn't support him 100 percent, even if he does feel that way but is just annoyed with the question, it creates a sound bite that becomes all he is going to talk about for weeks. It's kind of the equivalent of a presidential presser. You're not doing any actual reporting. You're putting on a performance to show you're "asking the tough questions." On the other hand, if these gang bang pressers are just going to be fluffy crap, why bother holding them?

 

The "I'm only talking to you guys because I have to" is played out now. It was childish, junior high bullying when Lynch did it, and it's that, and pathetically unoriginal now that KD has adopted it.

It's silly to cheer this on. And, for the record, I don't think it should be part of these guys' jobs to talk. I barely still believe papers should cover games.

The lack of human decency is what irritates me. And Deadspin is just the little shit from "A Christmas Story" cheering on the bully.

 

I've been in favor of eliminating player press conferences for ages. If you want to get them, have at it in the locker room.

 

How are they bullying these poor writers?

Being an asshole is not the same as being a bully.

 

Totally agree. This shouldn't be about who needs who. I think it is obvious athletes and sports in general NEED media less and less. But I also believe that on the whole, it is a mutually beneficial relationship.

What Deadspin misses, in its never-ending quest to shit on the media, is the actual human interaction this discussion revolves around. Both parties, media and athlete, are there to do a job. I think it is safe to say no media members really WANT to talk to Durant in much the same way he doesn't WANT to talk to them. But it is part of both sides' respective jobs.

Sure, there are probably better ways to do things than scrums like that, but that is no excuse for being a dick just because you don't like how it is done now.

 

I really agree with this. One of the nicest guys I ever covered would almost never talk to the media. He was shy, polite, friendly, but was very uncomfortable when the camera was on him. If you really, really needed something from him, he was usually accomodating if you went through PR.

I've seen a couple guys who would qualify as "bullies" to the media in the locker room. Both were in baseball. They would interrupt other interviews or yell at the writers when they were talking to others. That was mostly one specific player, who occasionally would have someone who he pulled into the situation.

I never saw anything even remotely close to that in the NFL. Of the 53 players in the locker room, you would have a handful who didn't like to talk. Some were dicks about it, some weren't.