Athletes who did not speak to the media

[outofplace]

So, you say something complimentary about the other guy and move on. Sorry, but those sound like excuses. As somebody with some understanding of the media now, I'm surprised you still hold this view.

One of the most media-friendly high school athletes I ever dealt with was a wrestler. We'll call him JD. Damn good one, too. JD won a state title as a senior.

The problem with JD was he would actually got jealous if one of his teammates got any attention (he was a weird kid). One day I was talking to one of his teammates after a dual meet and the teammate starts laughing. I finally turn around and there is JD mooning us.

Another time I was talking to one of his teammates and JD walked up and started asking questions. On the plus side, they weren't bad questions. I think I even used one of the answers.

We had another kid who looked like Shute from Vision Quest, but with less of a personality. It was absolutely painful getting a word out of him. But when he lost a big match, he would still talk. Not that he lost many. He was a state champion as a junior and lost in the semis as a senior.

First, wrestlers are a weird breed. I don't think anyone can deny that.

Second, not sure what you mean by "somebody with some understanding of the media now." I was the media for 10 years. I chased down a lot of athletes and got shot down a lot of times. Some threatened to kick my ass if I didn't stop asking questions. It's part of the game. If it's the World forking Series, fine, get indignant. If it's high school sports, you have to live with people letting emotions get the better of them and telling you to fork off.

And, to be honest, even though it was five years before I started my journalism career, I knew the reporter would get nothing newsworthy out of me. I wasn't the story. He should've been interviewing the winner - who eventually became national champion - rather than some broken-in-half pissant like me.

I don't really know your exact media background. That's why I put it that way. I'm just saying that given your background, I'd think you would understand that there is no reason not to take a minute to talk and it helps the reporter out.

From your point of view, why ever interview somebody who loses? Sorry, but just talking to the winner isn't always enough. Sometimes it is the opponent who can offer some real perspective.

 

[Dick Whitman]

OOP, I was a nobody who just got his ass kicked in 45 seconds. Would you, as a reporter, think I have any newsworthy insight into the tournament as a whole? Plus, the reporter had been covering this beat the entire year, so it didn't come as a shock that my opponent cruised to a title. Maybe you had to be there, but he WAS the story, and was for the entire year. The only thing I could've said was, "Wow, I didn't think I'd even last THAT long." Which, of course, was something everyone who'd read the story already knew.

I absolutely would want to talk to the loser of that match. He probably was curious about what you thought of the winner's talent. heck, when I used to do the all-area team for my paper in football, basketball, and softball/baseball, I used to always get an opponent quote for each capsule. Way better stuff than talking to the kids themselves, a lot of times. High school kids are frequently uncomfortable talking about themselves because they've had it drilled into them so much that they shouldn't do it.

 

[lantaur]

Former Bengals RB Harold Green didn't talk to the media. Then, for a little bit, QB Jeff Blake and WR Carl Pickens stopped talking as well. So your starting QB-RB-WR all remained silent. Thank goodness for offensive linemen.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Again, deck, the winner's talent had been on display for the better part of the entire four years we were in high school. He was a once-in-a-lifetime talent. Think Cael Sanderson magnitude. He was Tom Brady, I was Gary Hogeboom.

Would you ask Tyler Palko for insight into the season Aaron Rodgers is having? I probably wouldn't.

If they played Green Bay, I would ask him about Clay Matthews.

 

[lcjjdnh]

Again, deck, the winner's talent had been on display for the better part of the entire four years we were in high school. He was a once-in-a-lifetime talent. Think Cael Sanderson magnitude. He was Tom Brady, I was Gary Hogeboom.

Would you ask Tyler Palko for insight into the season Aaron Rodgers is having? I probably wouldn't.

Often helpful to talk to people beyond the star. Not exactly analogous, but Halberstam had the "backup catcher" theory, for instance.

I have what I call the backup catcher theory. Most other people doing a book want the top guy. My belief is, you probably learn more from the backup catcher on a baseball team than from the star. Because the backup catcher's smart: He watches the game, he's into the game, he always has to be ready, and when it's all over, 20 years later, he has a lot of time to talk because not a lot of people come to see him. When I did "Summer of '49," about Williams and DiMaggio on those two great teams, the Red Sox and the Yankees, no one was more fun to talk to than a guy named Matt Batts, a former Red Sox catcher down in Baton Rouge, La. He had nothing but great anecdotes. And it's the same for this book. It's what I call the lifers -- the assistant coaches, the scouts, the trainers -- they're wonderful. I'm very sympathetic toward Michael's finally not giving any interviews. I've just never seen a monster like the media machinery that he's created. No one can understand how demanding it is. It would devour anyone else.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Again, deck, the winner's talent had been on display for the better part of the entire four years we were in high school. He was a once-in-a-lifetime talent. Think Cael Sanderson magnitude. He was Tom Brady, I was Gary Hogeboom.

Would you ask Tyler Palko for insight into the season Aaron Rodgers is having? I probably wouldn't.

If they played Green Bay, I would ask him about Clay Matthews.

You'd have to get in line behind my drooling ex-wife to talk to him. But seriously, apples to oranges. Wrestlers are all playing the same game. And, just to repeat, I was in severe physical pain at the time, and had just been humiliated on the biggest stage of my life.

As much as I'd love to continue defending how irrelevant I was, I'll just leave it at this: You're writing a movie review about, say, "Inception" ;D. Are you interviewing DiCaprio and Nolan, or the fifth grip?

I forking hate "Inception." Neither.

 

[forever_town]

I can see where MisterCreosote was going with his anecdote. It'd be akin to asking the third string tight end who only gets on the field on special teams about blocking some effing stud linebacker or catching passes from some glamour boy quarterback. Where's the news peg, to be honest?

Now, if it's Chris Johnson being asked about facing Clay Matthews and he doesn't talk, there's a problem there.

 

[lone star scribe]

Bill Parcells' assistant coaches weren't allowed to talk, either. Not surprising his evil spawn continued the tradition.

 

[joe king]

I can see where MisterCreosote was going with his anecdote. It'd be akin to asking the third string tight end who only gets on the field on special teams about blocking some effing stud linebacker or catching passes from some glamour boy quarterback. Where's the news peg, to be honest?

Now, if it's Chris Johnson being asked about facing Clay Matthews and he doesn't talk, there's a problem there.

I once led an NBA gamer with a quote from a guy who played a grand total of one minute. It was hilarious and relevant.

I remember interviewing a way undersized freshman backup linebacker who came in when the starter was injured and wound up getting flattened by Bo Jackson as Bo raced for the winning touchdown. The kid was great -- talked about how powerful Bo was, how nervous he was seeing this huge, fast guy bearing down on him, what it was like to bounce off him.

I understand Mr. C not wanting to talk to the reporter, but can you (and he) honestly see no possible news value in the reporter talking to the guy who just got beat by this monumental stud? I think it's pretty obvious he'd want to talk to him.

 

[Shaggy]

Jose "Chico" Lind didn't talk to the media, I don't think.

I remember he played 3-4 seasons for the Royals and hit one home run, which plunked off the foul pole in Milwaukee County Stadium. Afterwards, reporters tried to interview him but he declined with a smile on his face. I could almost respect that, at least he's consistent.

I looked up that HR on Baseball Reference and my memory was dead-on. I still got it.

 

[mrbio]

Marcelo Rios in tennis was notorious for ducking the media.

Props to Curtis Pride of MLB who had a speaking handicap but still was gracious and engaging with the media.

 

[Moderator1]

Curtis Pride didn't have a "speaking handicap." He's hearing impaired. He speaks quite well. I interviewed him when he was in high school, when he played basketball at William and Mary as well as when he played pro baseball.