Sports "Journalism" Has Turned Into Reality TV

I once was a huge fan of the talking head shows on ESPN.  From "Pardon the Interruption" to "First Take", I was setting my DVR to "embrace debate".

However, over time, I started to get suspicious of the content that I was viewing on a regular basis.  The debates started to get really outlandish.  The talking heads were not being objective over the topics of the day, but instead, they started showing a bias based on their favorite team/player.  And every day one of the talking heads would make what appeared to be an illogical statement based on how he/she felt rather than anything pertaining to the game itself.

The shows I once enjoyed because of the great points that were being made had turned into reality TV.  They looked to be over-produced prescheduled arguments that cause an MSNBC/FOX News type of divide with the viewers.  The debates are now more heated than some of the arguments I've witnessed in sports bars and sometimes with just as little analytics involved.  It's great for ratings, but bad for sports fans. 

I've had a hard time facing the fact that nothing is sacred any more.  The media only cares about increasing viewership and if that means having someone screaming about "LeBron being better than Jordan" or "Baker Mayfield being the next Tom Brady", then they're all for it.  They don't care if the arguments have been run into the ground or if the points attempted to be made are valid or not.

ESPN, FOX Sports, NBC Sports, and CBS Sports are all trying to out-crazy one another to get the more eyes on their screens and I think that it's working.  Unfortunately, I can no longer lend my eyes to the count.  These shows are no different than "Real Housewives of (Insert City Here)" to me.  Just a bunch of fake outrage over cliche topics.  I guess it's back to reading sports websites because these shows just don't hold any value to me anymore.

As A Black Man, Should I Boycott The #NFL?

Okay, so we've all been hearing about the controversy behind Colin Kaepernick taking a knee during the National Anthem last season.  It's been discussed for a year now, but it's reared its ugly head once again because a new season is about to start.

For those who have been living under a rock, let me explain what's been happening over the past 365 days or so.  Kaep, who was a member of the San Francisco 49ers at the time, decided to take a stand against police brutality.  Unlike most athletes these days, Kaep decided to use his platform as an NFL player to raise awareness to his cause.  He said that he would take a knee during the National Anthem until this country took a stand against the treatment of black and brown people by the police.

The response from the media?  "Colin Kaepernick hates the troops!"

Of course, that same rhetoric came from the fans as well (since we take instruction from the media on where and how to direct our outrage).  Fans said that Kaep was disrespecting the veterans because he would not stand for the Star Spangled Banner.  Rarely was police brutality mentioned at all during the many weeks and months of this controversy.  It's been Kaep vs. the USA.  The whole message of police brutality was lost thanks to the media's spin.

Well, now that the controversy is a hot topic again, thanks to a new season kicking off, I started receiving a video link on Facebook about boycotting the NFL.  You may have seen it, but if you haven't, then peep it here:

First, I want to applaud the people who put together the video.  Any time black people get together to do something positive, then I'm all for it...  in most cases.  This one, I still can't get with the message.

The focus of this video, to me, is that once Kaep gets his job back, then everything is good.  No, it's not.  The message has been lost again.  Boycotting the NFL to get Kaep's job back will not fix police brutality against black and brown people in this country.  Does the NFL need to be brought down a peg?  Absolutely.  These 32 "owners" are undoubtedly blackballing a player who could contribute to just about all of the teams in the league.  But not watching games won't hurt anyone other than the TV stations, who may lose some ratings.

The best way to boycott the NFL is to boycott their sponsors directly.  That's what happened with Michael Vick.  People boycotted his sponsors and they dumped him faster than you can say "Hector 'Macho' Camacho".

Do you think Budweiser cares if you don't watch an NFL game as long as you're getting a six pack on your way home?  Do you think Nike cares if you're watching Kaep play as long as you keep buying their apparel?  No, they won't.  Because they would still be getting your money.

And would you stop your son from watching the games, too?  Especially if he is an up and coming star looking to play in the NFL some day?

Don't get me wrong.  So much has to be done to right a lot of wrongs in this country.  But, our approach will determine if it works or not.  Keep boycotting and not voting and you won't see very  much change.  Be mindful of where you spend your money if you want to promote change.

In fact, encouraging the players to do more is the best route to go.  If 70% of the NFL is made up of black players, then wouldn't that be the best place to start?  No players, no games?  If it worked for the University of Missouri's football team, then it can work for the NFL players, too.

So, will I "black out" the NFL games this season?  Nope.  I will watch like I always do.  Will I buy a Budweiser, Nikes, Gatorade, or something else that sponsors the NFL?  Nope.  And I don't think that you should either.

Consumer sponsorship boycotting is the way to go.  History agrees with me.

Why I Think Ayesha Curry Was Dead Wrong

Meet Ayesha Curry.  Chances are, you already know her.

Tonight is Game 7 of the NBA Finals and very few are actually talking about the game itself.  Just about everyone has spent the last few days discussing what Ayesha Curry tweeted about Game 6.

Mrs. Curry essentially insinuated that the NBA is"fixed" to allow Cleveland to extend the series to a Game 7.  A 7th game brings about more money through TV ratings and ticket sells.

As much as I love the Curry family and how they represent themselves, I think that she crossed over the line with her tweet.  Way over the line.

However, let me backtrack a bit.  Since the creation of the "Basketball Wives" TV show, it appears to me that a lot of women have come to the forefront of the game.  My only problem is with the ones who are bringing that reality show element along with them.  Sports fans honestly don't care what you think, good or bad.  We want to see Skip Bayless, Jemele Hill, Stephen A. Smith, and the likes discuss the game.  Not the wives of players.

Why?

Because wives of players are always going to side with their husbands.  Duh.  Where's the journalistic integrity of that (not to say that all talking heads on ESPN have integrity).  Brent Grimes of the NFL has a wife who is so outspoken that he has difficulty even signing with a team.  Imagine that!  Not being able to get a job because of your wife's actions on social media (and in real life for Miko Grimes).

Here's the tweet heard around the world (that she deleted afterwards).

And I want all the people who are supporting Ayesha to think about that.  If your husband comes home and discloses to you that someone at his job is holding him back, is your first thought to go on social media and bash his company?  Absolutely not.  Because you know that he will be out of a job if you do.

So, why do you give Ayesha Curry a pass on doing the exact same thing?  Because Steph is too talented to get fired from the Warriors?  Well, that's true, but that doesn't make it right.  Because believe it or not, Steph has been totally impacted in a negative way by his wife's antics.  He will never say that publicly because it's his wife.  Duh again.  But she's done more harm than good.

How so?

It's Game 7 and what who are we talking about?  Ayesha Curry.

Who are the reporters asking Steph Curry about in the interviews leading up to the game?  Not Lebron, but Ayesha.

What questions are Steph's teammates getting asked about in interviews leading up to the game?  Not about the Cavaliers, but about if they think the games are rigged.

And if the tweet was not enough, she challenged an ESPN talking head legend in Stephen A. Smith into a war of words.  He called her out on being a distraction to the team and her response was to challenge what he said and be even more of a distraction.  She even said that Stephen A. was pitting women against women simply because he stated that Lebron's wife, Savannah, experiences much more scrutiny of her husband than anyone in the league, yet she lets him handle it.  Imagine that.  A woman letting a man fight his own battles.  I would personally be offended if I had a wife who attempted to fight my battles for me.  That's emasculating.  It's just not right and it's humiliating.

Steph Curry is going into what could be the biggest game of his career and no one is really talking about the game.  And even if Ayesha Curry is correct in her accusations, how is she going to prove it?  What if she pissed the referees off so much (they're human) that they decide that they're not going to call many fouls tonight?  They may decide just to let the guys play it out and stay out of the picture.  A physical game favors Cleveland and not Golden State, so that would hurt her husband's chances of winning.  How is her tweet going to help her husband tonight?

Newsflash: It won't.

I'm not a fan of either team, but I do hope that tonight's game is a close one and has plenty of action.  I am a fan of both Savannah and Ayesha.  I'm a fan of Savannah's for being able to stay away from the spotlight, as tempting as it may be.  And I'm a fan of Ayesha's for how she's handled the spotlight, up until now.

It's not that Ayesha isn't entitled to her opinions.  She just has to realize that once she becomes the story, she becomes a target for criticism.  It doesn't matter if it's justified or not.  That's just how the media works.  And any criticism of her affects her husband's game whether anyone believes it or not.  It also puts him in a bad place with his teammates who also are affected by the controversy.

The last thing a player wants to worry about in a locker room is his wife/girlfriend or family.  You have to worry about how the media will make her look.  You have to worry about if some deranged fan(s) will accost her and hold her responsible if Golden State loses.  We live in a world where those two things are very likely.

Ayesha will probably have her own cooking show or something in the future.  She's a likeable person and she has the ability to brighten up any room.  She's one of the more positive recognizable figures in social media today and we need more like her.

But tweets can't beat microphones.  In a game between Ayesha Curry vs. ESPN, I'm putting my money down on ESPN every time.  I hope that she now realizes that she's fighting a losing battle and that she takes the high road going forward.