Do you have to be a former athlete (at a high level) to comment on TV, radio and in the media?….Are they the only ones who truly understand what’s happening on the court(field,ice)?…. I think it depends on who you talk to…<\/p>\n
For every Boomer Esiason and Jay Bilas there’s a Magic Johnson and Trev Alberts…For every Vince Scully and Al Michaels, there’s a Jim Rome and Skip Bayless…Let’s not even get started on Ray Lewis or Dick Butkus….<\/p>\n
Athletes are competitive and when their careers are over it’s sometimes a hard transition, at any level…..Everyone wants one more day, one more game, it’s addicting…For the lucky few who get a media job afterwards, it can be rewarding but at the same time humbling…<\/p>\n
At our recent sports \u00a0journalism seminar series we were lucky enough to be joined by Ryan Whitney<\/a>, who played eleven years in the National Hockey League and won a silver medal at the 2010 Winter Games and by Dalen Cuff,<\/a> a division one basketball player at Columbia University and now a co-host on ComcastSportsnet New England…<\/p>\n Whitney didn’t shy away from the cameras when he played and got to a point where he realized maybe this was something for him…”I always thought I would ask a way better question and in a certain way. \u00a0Some guys would just want to answer it and get it over with. \u00a0I was just more interested in what they were asking. \u00a0Some athletes are like that, some just want nothing to do with it.”…The former B-U star now uses Twitter and the Players Tribune to express himself and share his views and ask those questions himself…<\/p>\n But what about criticism?…Do players expect you, as a former high level athlete, to take it easy on them?…Cuff jumped all over that one; “You can’t hide from anything you say, you’re watching the game, you’re assessing the strengths and weaknesses of what’s going on, on the court. \u00a0That person can’t be that mad at you, they know what they did wrong, the coach is gonna tell them too. \u00a0I’m just educating the people who are listening to the game because they’re not going to hear all the stuff the coach has to say.”<\/p>\n This past week there was a classic case of “former athlete(s) vs full time reporter right here in Boston…The long time argument that we’ve talked about in class, do you have to be there in the locker room to have a valid voice?…As it turned out, it was two former professional athletes, Lou Merloni and Christian Fauria of WEEI sports tale radio vs. Jimmy Murphy, who covers the Bruins for DirtyWaterMedia<\/a>, among other internet sites…Here’s some of the back and forth….<\/p>\n It's hilarious how so many hosts on airwaves in Boston don't do research before spewing agendas! #Bruins<\/a><\/p>\n — Jimmy Murphy (@MurphysLaw74) April 15, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n