“The Media Answer”: How Athletes Conceptualize Their Relationship to the Press in the Players’ Tribune

Abstract

Much of the content that feeds the sports-media system originates through the often-fraught interactions between athletes and journalists. For generations, broader perceptions of this relationship were shaped by sports journalists, who had the last word. The rise of social media and athlete-driven storytelling platforms has seen sports figures speaking with fans outside of this interaction, offering a challenge to the professional authority of the sports journalist and the renegotiation of one of the core routines of mediated sport. One topic athletes and others have taken up in these spaces is their relationship with the press. This textual analysis of 110 stories posted on The Players’ Tribune, an athlete-sourced storytelling portal, finds mixed opinions on the state of athlete-press relations, with some pointing out the limits of what sports journalists can ever know, while others openly question media practices and choices. These messages are significant as athletes are using their platforms to shape perceptions of the sporting press among those most likely to consume journalistic content.