Pro Athletes In Legal Trouble – Guilty Until Proven Innocent

According to the United States Judicial System a person is innocent until proven guilty. This does not seem like the case when it comes to the coverage of professional athletes when they get in any sort of legal trouble. Many automatically assume that the athlete is guilty and will use their standing in society or will pay off the courts to get a slap on the wrist. This may seem the case but as a brother of a future lawyer that shouldn’t be the case at all; the United States courts would not be made out as a place where someone is above the law. In today’s society I believe any time we hear an athlete is in any circumstance we automatically assume someone is guilty and do not wait until justice is served.

The case could not be truer than for Aaron Hernandez. I agree that a lot of red flags have been raised and I believe that he has messed with some evidence but to camp a van for ESPN outside his house for the past couple of days is a little much. Zinsser discussed taking athletes like Babe  Ruth off the pedestal so why do we need to have 24 hour coverage of Hernandez’s house especially when police are still working to get an arrest warrant? If it’s the media’s job to cover the case wait until he is actually arrested and not wait around his house all the time. He is human so this intense amount of coverage only makes the public assume that he is guilty. For every human in the United States they have the right of being innocent until proven guilty however that does not seem the case for Hernandez and athlete’s in the spotlight; for them it is guilty until proven innocent.

Getting a job in Pro Sports Media without having been a pro athlete

We live in a society of what have you done for me lately and that cannot be truer in the world of sports and sports media. Many want to get a job in sports media but many of these jobs are being taken by former pro athletes. Networks think that former athletes know the game more because of the fact that they played at the highest level and that is reason enough to put them on tv even if they are not an eloquent speaker. My how to guide will teach you how to get a job in sports media without being a former professional athlete.

My first suggestion is for you to get vast knowledge of the big four. The big four are Major League Baseball the NBA the NFL and the NHL. They are known as the big four due to the fact that in the United States these are the sports with the four highest television deals. Sports are not only for entertainment but they are also a business and this is a major thing to get used to when working in sports media. My suggestion is to know the pro sports rule books of the big four from front to back. You never know when you will need the rulebook but if you know the rules off the top of your head that will only make you more marketable. The next step when you get a chance is to try the sport. You may be too old to play in high school but there are always recreation leagues or you can always grab some friends to play with. You need to be able to attempt the sport in order to know what the athletes are going through. It is also important to have knowledge of other sports besides the Big Four because there are always other shoots at the collegiate level or other sports that will get some air time so it will help if you are versatile.

 The next and longest step to do is to earn a degree that can relate to the sports business. Everyone wants to be an on air talent but it is important to get your foot in the door. It is important to have a degree and experience; volunteer to work behind the scenes while also trying to get experience in things that you want to do. If you want to be a broadcaster try starting at the local news level. Local news would love to have a volunteer eager to work. No matter what level you are working for prepare as if every game and everything you do is the Super Bowl. You never know who is listening or watching you work and if this is what you want to do you cannot get discouraged by what level you are working at. Good things will come for those who do not give up. If you cannot get someone to put you on the air right away that does not mean you should wait around. There will always be a sporting event on television. Put your television on mute and broadcast as if you were the broadcaster for the game. The more you work the better you will be.

One final step is the most important thing to realize about the sports media business. Timing is everything. Everyone wants to be at the big name place and involved in sports. Sometimes things are just not in the cards at that time but that does not mean a few weeks later something won’t open up. Keep applying and do not get discouraged. If you make yourself versatile, know the business end of sports, the rules of sports, are experienced, and love what you do there is no reason that you cannot get a job in sports media just because you were never a professional athlete. 

The Witchhunt of MLB Steroid Use

In my last article I discussed steroid use and baseball. Recently Alex Rodriguez Ryan Braun and about 20 other Major Leaguers were accused of being connected to Anthony Bosch and biogenesis. Bosch has agreed to speak with MLB investigators and this is going to be a long drawn out legal matter where both sides will accuse the others of wrongdoing. This will ultimately lead to someone losing credibility and just being accused is damaging enough.

One way the MLB can change the steroid culture in baseball  is to have more testing or have a policy that will steer players away from cheating. This may be a battle with the players union but players take a physical why not take a drug test? This way people who do not cheat are rewarded for not cheating because they should nothing to worry about. If a player needs to cheat to get where they are are they really a credible professional?

Devil’s Advocate Essay

“I did not use steroids… period!” Those were the words stated by Rafael Palmeiro 10 years ago when many Major League Baseball players appeared in front of the Supreme about the steroid issue in baseball. Since the turn of the century steroids have been a hot topic in baseball and many question whether those caught using steroids should be banned from the game or the Hall of Fame. Comparing the past of baseball and the future of baseball is too hard to do. The game has changed whether it be for better or worse but it seems steroids will be a part of it no matter what we say.

Many records have been chased and many have been broken in my generation including Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa’s chase for Roger Maris’s record of 61 home runs in a season. Both McGwire and Sosa have been accused of steroid abuse and many will not vote for them for the Hall of Fame because of this but the fact of the matter is their home run chase saved baseball. Baseball will always be America’s past time but at the time in 1998 television numbers were down. When Sosa and McGwire were chasing the home run record everyone tuned in to see history. Three years later Barry Bonds broke the single season home run record and people tuned in to see another player later accused of steroids hit home runs.

That is the thing about baseball in today’s game people dig the long ball. It is not the fact that people haven’t wanted to see the home run before but today’s stats are judged by how many home runs a guy can hit. Just look at Melky Cabrera. Cabrera was on the Giants last year a team that won the World Series but he was not there for the title run. Cabrera was serving a 50 game suspension because he violated the MLB’s policy on performance enhancing drugs. Once Cabrera was off suspension he signed a $16 million dollar contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. Cabrera who once was a platoon outfielder for the Yankees making the Major League minimum finally was able to cash in because of the fact that he could hit the long ball a lot more than he ever has. Cabrera served his 50 games so he wouldn’t face any more consequences. I bet any other player would sit out 50 games to get that big of an increase in their salary.

I have stated that steroids can help you hit the long ball but it can also help you win an MVP award. Ryan Braun a few years ago won the NL MVP award and right after his acceptance speech he was accused of testing positive for steroids. Braun, dumbfounded by these results used every ounce of his being to appeal this suspension. Braun accused the people who took his blood samples and placed the pressure on them. Braun got off on a technicality because there was a hiccup in the testing because the sample had been compromised by not being sent to a doctor until the day after. Braun did what many athletes including Rafael Palmeiro have done when accused of cheating and that is to deny deny deny until you are proven guilty and then you apologize in a presser and never talk about it again. Braun is not the only athlete who has done this and when you are a professional athlete in this day and age you are not paid based on whether you play the game the right way or not you are judged primarily on stats from a year to year basis. If everyone else is finding a way to cheat and not get caught more and more athletes will do the same in order to gain that extra inch.

Roc Nation Agency

Recently a lot of famous athletes including Robinson Cano Kevin Durant and Geno Smith have fired their agencies in order to sign with Jay Z and Roc Nation.

Jay Z ,a famous rapper, has recently sold his share of the Brooklyn Nets in order to enter the world of being a sports agent. While Jay Z is not the main agent he still is giving off the wrong message. There has been discussion of Jay Z recruiting these athletes which has annoyed many in the field. With my sister finishing her second year of law school at Syracuse this topic has interested me a lot. I realize the amount of work she put in in order to be a future Hollywood agent and for Jay Z to take clients with no experience is a dumb decision for these athletes. They do have a right to choose but wouldn’t you want an agent who studied for hours on end and passed the bar to get you the money that you deserve or would you want HOV to get you your money with his experience being a famous rapper? To me the choice is simple.

MLB Player Entry The Most Fair Method in Pro Sports

On June 6-8 Major League Baseball had its first year player draft for baseball players. Players are eligible to be drafted 3 times: when they graduate high school, after junior year of college, after senior year of college. A player does not put themselves in the draft and has the right to turn down a team that drafts them in order to pursue an education. 

With the NCAA having many scandals with athletes and the fact that NCAA athletes can not make a dime off what the NCAA is making off of them it made me think that professional baseball has the best entry rules in professional sports.

In the NBA an athlete is forced to go to one year of college or to play one year overseas after high school before pursuing an NBA career.However this leads to a lot of one and done teams like the University of Kentucky where teams stockpile talent and get as much as they can in one year out of a player before they pursue their basketball career. The one and done situation proves that players do not want to be in college and are only there because they have to be.  In the NFL a player is required 3 years before they can enter the draft. The NFL prospects are usually better students and you are more likely to see a player stay and finish their degree than a basketball player.

However I feel baseball has the best entry rules. We should not be forcing education on athletes who do not seem to care about it. By forcing this education you can clearly see the NCAA trying to bleed as many dollars as they can. Another reason why we should not force a decision is because of the possibility of injury. If a player is injured playing in college they wont be as wanted in the pro ranks and they will caught between a rock and a hard place if they did not take their education seriously. By making a player choose like in pro baseball you are making players to make a decision to get at least a junior level of education or to start their pro career at the age of 18 . This is a big decision and if they decide to stay three years they will only be one year away from a college degree. The decision should be left to the person with the talent. Sports talent will only last for so many years but an education will last a lifetime. We should not force someone to do something like the NBA and NFL do. The choice should be left to those lucky enough to have a big decision like this and if we start following in the path of the MLB maybe the NCAA will have a lot more student athletes than just athletes forced in a school setting.

Athletes are getting fined but are they really getting the message vs are we too sensitive these days?

Recently in the NBA playoffs Roy Hibbert of the Indiana Pacers was having a press conference. He was talking about the task of guarding Lebron James and ended up saying that Lebron was stretching him out. Without really thinking he did what a lot of masculine athletes do to cover themselves in context that would make them seem less manly by saying “no homo”. Later in an unrelated conversation he called the media a bunch of m*therf******. The only part of this press conference to make air on ESPN and Hibbert had to apologize for was the no homo comments. Hibbert will be fined but he makes millions of dollars a year so the fine to him would seem like $20 for him and he will not really get the message.

The only issue and question I have is are we too sensitive? Why is there more of a kneejerk reaction for something that is bad but wouldnt be bleeped out on television. Is it the media’s fault for putting these athlete’s on a pedestal so high that all they can do is wait until they finally come crashing down? How can athlete’s monitor themselves and avoid things that dont seem hurtful until you dive deeper into the context? Will we able to get the message across on how to act like a professional?

Bio Sketch Edit

Ever since I could remember I wanted to be involved in sports. I played as many sports as I could growing up from baseball to basketball to lacrosse to football. I knew that entering high school at 4 foot 11 being a professional athlete was going to be difficult. So I took another route. I become a sports broadcaster and being involved in sports media while still playing the sports I loved.I even had a high school blog for the state that received much recognition. 

I enjoy all types of sports media and blogging. I love the fact that anyone can talk about a sport and some like Bill Simmons can make a career out of it. I however believe there should be a high standard set when it becomes to sports coverage and sites like bleacher report arent relevant enough because it doesnt seem like a professional enough site to me.

 With sports media these days athletes cant do anything without it appearing on Sportscenter which makes it even more difficult to be a professional now a days. If only people could get a job monitoring these athlete’s twitter etiquette.