Pablo Torre has had a wonderful run the past couple of months being one of the most discussed figures in sports media. It’s been a series of stories with headlines surrounding the background of Bill Belichick’s relationship with Jordon Hudson, social media spats with Bill Simmons and Nick Wright, and now uncovering documents that may have the NFL and the NFLPA in hot water with the players themselves.
Pablo Torre has made more media appearances in the past couple of months than Pat McAfee has taken shots at ESPN brass. That’s mighty impressive.
However, one item from Torre’s most recent appearance on The Dan Le Batard Show struck a chord with me. Torre inferred that because of his reporting on potential collusion between the commissioner Roger Goodell and team owners, the NFL is now “monitoring his media appearances.” As much as I respect Torre to be a fine journalist, this statement is questionable as it takes away the shine from his findings and pivots the issue to be what is happening with him.
Everyone Is Always Watching and Listening
NFL players forever have always delivered the generic line about the “outside noise” when questioned about critics of their play. Why would a professional athlete pay attention to radio, newspapers, social media to hear anything and everything about their performance as a player on and off the field?
Sure, continue to humor me. Of course, we all know agents and team representatives are paid to constantly have their ear to the ground on everything that is said about their players when the narrative surrounds them. Then somehow, some way the athlete gets word that things are being said about his/her performance to only have them respond.
In sports, all words are heard no matter how often it’s proclaimed they aren’t.
Regarding Pablo Torre’s reporting, does he really believe that the NFL is just now paying attention to things he’s saying or items he’s reporting on? A national reporter, who also doubles as a commentator and podcaster, appearing on a national platform with worldwide reach is just now drawing attention from the National Football League?
If you believe that, I have land to sell you on Mars.
Torre Is Doing His Job, the NFL Is Doing Theirs
The NFL and its 32 teams have been, are, and will always be paying close attention to how their product is discussed in the civil discourse. You can’t hide your commentary in the digital age we live in. It’s so easy to see what anyone said about any team during any appearance by a member of the sports media.
Of course, the National Football League is listening to every word with every appearance that Torre makes for the foreseeable future. How is this news or even a stunning admission? They’ve already been doing it.
He uncovered evidence of potential collusion that could lead to a lawsuit against the league and Commissioner Roger Goodell. The concept that the league wouldn’t be keeping their ear to the ground after this report is foolish.
What I’m not comprehending here is why Torre would flaunt it on a public and national network like he did with Le Batard. Why flex when you don’t need to? You’re inferring that a billion-dollar company is caught in a gotcha moment, and you’re daring them to come at you.
What Torre is doing with this comment is he’s taking the focus off the reporting and now making it about himself. He had to be aware that single spoken sentences that are ‘shots fired’ type of moments will be fodder for aggregators to drive clicks and added awareness of the comment.
Why taunt the National Football League like that?
Any media member in any local market knows that every word is heard, read, and monitored. Words have consequences, and actions can (and have) been taken by organizations in all sports. From bloggers to podcasters and everything in between, there is nothing that is not seen or heard in the internet age.
The National Football League is a massive operation with worldwide reach and massive influence in media. There are reporters that uncover all sorts of stories regarding the teams they cover throughout the calendar year. What they don’t do is stage a “come at me, bro” moment by taunting the teams and subjects they cover.
Keep it focused on explaining the ‘why’ this is important, and you win.
A Sign Of The Media Environment
Maybe it’s the state of the media today that’s the issue. The race to be first clouds the goal of being correct. The desire for likes over the quality of the content. Where impressions and podcast appearances matter more than substance, and clout is currency. Why take shots when you can just stand on your reporting?
Victim culture doesn’t work for journalists that do their jobs, because the story is the subject and not the journalist.
Maybe Bill Simmons was correct.
The Ringer founder was critical of Torre following his reporting on Bill Belichick’s relationship with Jordon Hudson, saying he “dined” for a week and a half while “pretending” to be a journalist. He was highly critical of Torre’s appearances in media following his reporting on the former Patriots’ head coach.
Since the uncovered document was released by Torre, what was the play? Hit the sports media circuit to talk about it and sell why his reporting is important. He made appearances with Le Batard, Dan Patrick, and 94 WIP among others attempting to explain why sports fans need to care about billionaires paying millionaires millions less than they should be making.
Those efforts worked in conjunction with ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio, who publicly called out NFL partner networks such as ESPN, CBS Sports, FOX Sports, and NFL Network for not reporting on Torre’s reporting. Is this journalism? Editorial? Opinion? Publicly bullying other networks on social media to aggregate reporting is a new twist I’m not familiar with.
Should we hold a table for Torre and Florio as they dine on this story for the next two weeks? Reservation for two!
The unearthing of this document by Torre is fantastic and should be commended for his efforts. He didn’t win a Peabody for nothing. It’s a refreshing breath of fresh air to see such depth with journalism holding even the biggest sports entities accountable. He has been and continues to be a guiding voice for sports journalism in the modern digital age. The disappointing part is making the story about himself, playing the victim, and taking a shot by framing the obvious as being controversial with intent. Like any talent in sports media, if you simply let the reporting stand by itself, it’s more impactful.
However, if Torre truly feels that the league is just now paying attention to what he’s saying on the national platforms he’s featured on, maybe he’s learned nothing from what he’s already found out.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
