I remember Dan Patrick, in his ESPN Radio days, talking about what was the most recent outburst from legendary Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight. Knight, once again, had exploded at the local media and Patrick shared an interesting theory. He posited that the Knight explosions were a give and take win-win for the coach and the media. For Knight, Patrick pointed out he was able to perpetuate his take no crap image. For the media, they got the red hot content they desired.
Granted, a coach or player blowing up on the media is not always a win-win. The content is almost always appreciated by the media but, if you are the media member on the receiving end of the blow up, you might catch further heat from the fan base. That doesn’t stop some in our industry from choosing that path strictly for the theater of it all. That is not the way I do a show but, to each their own.
One obligation we all have is to be true to our audience. In terms of interviews or news conferences with coaches, I have always viewed my position as the voice of the fan. I try to ask the questions I think the fan wants answered. That often means asking tough questions which, in turn, can mean upsetting a coach or player. I view that as part of the job, unpleasant for some but an integral part of the job. Doing that in a professional town is far easier than on the college level. College players being compensated will change this feeling but, for now, there is a different level of acceptance in criticizing college players as opposed to professional players.
Trickier, still, is the play-by-play announcer. Often, they are an employee of the team or the athletic department and are forced to balance being the voice of the fan versus continuing to draw a paycheck. This tricky balance is in the center of an old issue former New York Mets infielder Todd Frazier had with Mets play-by-play voice Gary Cohen. Cohen, in his role as voice of the fan, was often critical of Frazier and the Mets and word reached Frazier. He recounted his confrontation with Cohen recently on the Foul Territory show:
“People kept telling me back home, this guy is cutting you up, he’s cutting the Mets up. I’m like, ‘Ah, that’s what they do, you know?’ I started looking into it. Players are like, ‘He’s always done this. We can’t stand it. I went up to him one time and said, ‘Gary, I gotta talk to you man.’ I said, ‘What the heck is going on? I thought you’re a Mets fan. He’s like, ‘I am,’ and he got pissed off at me. I said, ‘Well, start rooting for us.’”
The first part of Frazier’s story gives interesting insight from the player side and the media side. From Frazier’s point of view, Cohen had an obligation to be positive as he was the voice of the team. Maybe he didn’t have to always toe the company line but he certainly needed to avoid heavy criticism. From Cohen’s point of view, he was the voice of the fans and being critical, when needed, is exactly what the Mets fans demanded of him. Frazier wasn’t finished, he gave further insight to the relationship:
“We had our conversations back and forth. (His teammates) got a newfound respect for what he does and what I do. It was fine after that, we’re both men. If we have a problem, we go straight to the source, and that’s how I’ve been raised. I felt better about it, and I hope he did too. “You don’t always have to knock us down, and that was part of the conversation. I hope he respected me for what I said, I respected him for his comments back.”
In a perfect world, the back-and-forth between Frazier and Cohen is exactly how these situations are solved but we do not live in a perfect world. If you want to be critical of the coaches and players you cover, you have to also be willing to accept the consequences that come with that. It may just be that type of blow up that defined Bob Knight. Most people don’t want to be disliked but, in cases like this, at least people are talking about you.
Ryan Brown is a columnist for Barrett Sports Media, and a co-host of the popular sports audio/video show ‘The Next Round’ formerly known as JOX Roundtable, which previously aired on WJOX in Birmingham. You can find him on Twitter @RyanBrownLive and follow his show @NextRoundLive.
