Some of us are drama kings and queens, and some of us definitely are not. During the pre-Super Bowl Media Day, the feeding frenzy of photographers, interviewers, sportscasters, and any number of media representatives from television, radio, and print forums gather in front of podiums and tables filled with football players and coaches stationed there for this mandatory event.
For some people I know, it would be a torturous time filled with trepidation and anxiety. I'd love it except for one thing: it would be the media. And sometimes the media are hostile, unfair, looking for incriminating soundbites/bytes, and anything to defame or humiliate those at the podiums and tables. Their prejudices and/or expectations rule over their journalistic capabilities, and they fail miserably to convey "real" and instead insert caricatures.
Even though I'm always up for an audience - in spite of rarely having one - I can certainly understand not wanting to attend such an event. If you're uncomfortable being exposed, anticipate questions that might get too personal, if you're not accustomed to speaking in front of a crowd, don't consider yourself articulate or desire to express feelings or opinions, being placed in this environment to be prodded and probed by members of the media absolutely would not be a welcome or understandable situation. And should not be forced upon you.
Seattle Seahawk premiere running back Marshawn Lynch was warned by the NFL Commissioner if he did not participate in this Media Day event, he would be fined $100,000. He seriously considered not attending but relented, attending, and for several minutes expressed his appreciation for the attention but concluded he just didn't understand it. Marshawn Lynch is not a talker, he's a doer. I don't know if the way some of the media has treated him in the past, focusing on mistakes he's made, has anything to do with his aversion to speaking with the media, but I wouldn't blame him if it did. He has consented to giving interviews to particular media members, probably those he felt he could trust to reveal who he truly is as a person who grew up in a hard way and who operates a foundation in his native Oakland to help kids just like he was get a headstart on a better life.
Marshawn Lynch at Super Bowl Media Day
For the most part, the members of the NFL network gave a favorable response to Marshawn's brief interviews, but one self-important local sports media figure, who is nationally revered as a football guru, insulted him and made it crystal clear why Marshawn Lynch shouldn't ever consent to speak to him. Few things in this media frenzy have infuriated me as much as this individual's reaction to Marshawn. I'm not even printing his name here because it would give him recognition he doesn't deserve.
Why is it the media, who is no more a participant in the sports' realm as it is in the political realm, should be able to dictate who and what can be said and done for their benefit? And how is it they can decide exactly how individuals must act in situations that are difficult and/or uncomfortable for them? The media, even in sports, thinks of itself much more highly than it ought.
Lord, justice, please. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.