We in the media are painfully bored when athletes give standard responses to every question, never giving a soundbite worth printing. Derek Jeter is the poster child for those responses. He has mastered the “just taking it one day at a time” and “I am just giving it 110%” responses that bore people to death. And although it may not be interesting, it surely is not controversial, making Jeter one of the most popular, least disliked players around. How can you really hate a guy who never gives you a reason to?
Enter Manny Pacquiao. Manny apparently never took classes on what to discuss with the media. So when he stated his opinion that he disagreed with homosexual marriages, a firestorm ensued. Quotes he never said were attributed to him, he was banned from a popular hangout spot in LA (so much for freedom of speech in America), and he will surely lose a ton of money money from lost endorsements. On top of that, the public interest in his fight with Mayweather will surely decrease somewhat as it is a lot easier to market a good (Pacquiao) vs. evil (MAyweather) fight than it is a now evil vs. evil fight.
What is strange is that Pacquiao’s disagreement with gay marriage falls in line with about half of America. But since the media is overwhelmingly liberal (i.e. for gay marriage), he will now become public enemy number one. No longer will the media fall all over themselves to give him positive publicity. Instead, everything he does will be more closely scrutinized. You can guarantee that a closer look into claims that he has used PED’s will be taken. In short, for merely giving his own honest opinion, Manny has turned a lot of fans into non-fans.
What’s the lesson to be learned here? Take the Derek Jeter approach! Sure, I might hate it as a writer. I want to get the dirt. But I also hate to see that when an athlete gives an honest answer, the press jumps at the chance to tear him down. And the public allows it! Is there really a huge problem with what Manny said? It’s his opinion! And he has likely had it a long time. But people who were on the bandwagon before were behind him all that time. Now that he made it public, it’s as if he turned into Chris Benoit in the eyes of some.
King Mo is another example. He said he thought some words spoken to him by Pat Lundvall were racist. The result? He was fired and many in the public made statements that most definitely WERE racist. Rather than keeping his mouth shut, Mo let his feelings fly and the media killed him for it. Fortunately for Mo, things appear to be turning out the best for him as his profile has increased greatly and he has better opportunities available to him.
I don’t understand why the media wants to bite the hand that feeds them. I am even more curious as to why athletes continuously allow themselves to fall into the trap. With things like social media around to allow them to vent immediately, it’s unlikely to end any time soon. But you have to feel at least a little for those who state an opinion, only to be destroyed for giving us what we want. Sure, some opinions deserve the response they get, but those as mild as what Pacquiao said are harmless enough that he should not be crucified for it. However, you have to question his intelligence of saying such things. At the very minimum it makes him look incredibly naive in his dealings with the press.
