This is an era of sports unlike any other that has ever existed. Access to athletes is at an all-time high and every single move they make is tracked and reported on.
Likewise, for teams across America, anything that can be construed as a possibility is quickly unearthed and out in the world for public consumption. In the case of the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the biggest sports franchises in the world, that attention is even greater.
Every rumor about any player is reported on and broken down to the highest degree, regardless of how it may affect the players themselves. And that is something that doesn’t sit too well with Lakers owner Jeanie Buss.
Buss was a speaker at the annual Sloan Sports Media Conference, where she discussed the media and the way it affects athletes, believing there needs to be more responsibility in the field:
Do Athletes Need the Media?, Jeanie Buss, “There’s damage done to team chemistry when players have to read about [trade rumors]. It seems like there’s more stuff out there with no sources. I’d like to see more responsibility” #AthletesAndMedia #SSAC19 #ANumbersGame
— Sloan Sports Conf. (@SloanSportsConf) March 2, 2019
Buss does make a good point about responsibility. In this day and age of rumors, things are often leaked out in the public that may or may not have proper sources and could be flat out wrong. If that turns out to be the case, it doesn’t get nearly the same amount of coverage as the initial report or rumor, and writers and media outlets just continue on.
Of course, Buss and the Lakers have had some recent experience with this as rumors surrounded the franchise about a number of players potentially being traded for New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis. No one could deny the effect that had on the team as a whole.
The media doing things properly will help things on all sides as it will lead to better relationships between teams, players and the media, which should in turn, lead to proper articles and reports.
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