#mikegundy

            After reading Harry’s post on the media in sports, specifically college sports, I could not help but think of the immense pressure the media puts on the amateur athletes in today’s world. I remember when this press conference happened; the video was all over ESPN and news channels. At the time I thought of it as a joke, as one of the funniest things I had seen a coach do in a post-game press conference. However at watching the video 6 years later (and older) I realize the real point behind the coach’s rant and why he was so upset with the reporter who wrote the article.

            College athletes, specifically those in big-time sports programs, often receive just as much press attention as some professional athletes. Their play is evaluated game to game on radio talk shows and in newspapers, sometimes very critically. Grant these players are usually receiving free tuition from the university but it still seems unjust that the media would attack amateur student athletes, especially when they have done nothing wrong.

            Like Coach Gundy said in his rant, frequently the media goes after the player who didn’t play well even though his only fault is he didn’t perform well on the field. It doesn’t mean he was not giving it 100% of his effort and was a bad representation of what a good student athlete should be. Sports have a funny way of being cruelly unfair to some people with the best character. I do not think I have ever seen media coverage of a sub-par player with high grades and outstanding character. The player’s athletic abilities usually have to be outstanding before the media will even care about how he does in school or what he does with his time away from the field.