Author Archives: The Richard A. Maxwell Sport Media Project

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About The Richard A. Maxwell Sport Media Project

The Richard A. Maxwell Sport Media Project is a hub for teaching, research, and service related to sport media. The Project benefits students and faculty at Bowling Green State University, and offers outreach and media consulting to area and regional groups that work with student-athletes. Through collaborative efforts of the Sport Management program and the School of Media and Communication, BGSU students have the opportunity to learn such skills as sports writing, reporting, broadcasting, announcing, public relations, media relations, communication management and production. Faculty and other scholars have access to resources about the commercial and sociological aspects of sport.

The NFL and Peterson Moving Forward

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BY CHELSEA VANASSCHE

One of the NFL’s most beloved and talented players, Adrian Peterson, is facing a tragic loss. The running back for the Minnesota Vikings, received the news that his 2-year-old son had passed away from an alleged assault.

Reports confirm that Peterson’s son suffered injuries from an alleged assault and later that day died of the injuries. A man identified as Joseph Patterson, the boyfriend of the son’s mother, is a suspect.

Through this tragedy we as fans see the NFL, other professional leagues, teams and players around the nation come to together to support this one player and his family. Peterson has tweeted numerous times his gratitude toward the NFL and its players. 

We can expect this to be a high profile case due to the fact Peterson is a public figure and this is an infant death involving assault. 

While right now it might be too early to talk about moving forward, I can see Peterson being an advocate for child abuse. I can see him donating money to child abuse organizations and really being a “face” for these non-profit organizations. 

We as fans hope the NFL does something to honor the child, Peterson, and the overall issue of child abuse. As much as Peterson does for the league, it’s the least they can do for him during this tragic time. The NFL does a good job of stepping up in times of tragedy and I expect nothing less from the league.

Peterson is known for his perseverance. NFL fans saw him dominate in the league in 2012 winning the Most Valuable Player award after coming off an ACL injury. We can only expect Peterson to come back stronger and ready to play harder, whenever that may be, and show us the definition of perseverance following his tragic loss.

Overreaction to Lane Kiffin Firing

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BY KIA TYUS

It seems like the University of Southern California (USC) finally did what everyone was waiting for and fired Lane Kiffin, causing a media up roar. But my question is, did the media perpetuate Kiffin as an awful coach that should have been fired long ago?

When Kiffin became coach at USC, they were ranked number one in the nation. They were one of the very few teams that were unranked by the end of the season.

After a 62-41 loss to Arizona State, Kiffin was fired by athletic director Pat Haden as the team returned home.

There have been many former players as well as future prospects that have given their input on Kiffin’s firing. Former USC cornerback Terrell Thomas claims that he still loves Kiffin but is glad they are looking for a new coach stating, “It’s about time.”

The media focused only on the negative portions of Thomas’s comments making it seem like former players didn’t respect him as a coach.

Snoop Dogg’s son, Cordell Broadus, made a comment on his twitter about how Kiffin was not leading the team in the right direction. Broadus is currently the number six-ranked wide receiver in California.

The media said because of his firing, USC will now have a higher chance at recruiting top prospects because of Kiffin’s firing. The media made it seem like USC had no chance of recruiting high prospects because the future prospects didn’t want to play under Kiffin.

Rumor has it that Kiffin may lose his house because USC loaned Kiffin 500 thousand dollars. Should schools even be allowed to loan money to coaches?

What is Kiffin’s response to all of this? Kiffin has fully accepted blame for the poor play of USC. While it was very hard for him to have his job taken away, he stated, “Pat has a very hard job…at the same time it was hard to deal with the sanctions and reduced roster.” 

In my opinion, the media was too hard on Kiffin. I feel as though they made it seem like Kiffin was the sole reason for USC’s fall. The media seems to have forgotten all the things that go into a winning team. USC has other coaches. You don’t hear anything about the defensive coordinator. 

Many players have probably given up on the current season because they know they will not get into a good bowl game. Kiffin does not make every call and it is up to the players to complete each play. I guess as a head coach, Kiffin had to take responsibility for everyone’s failure.

Bob Costas Expresses Opinions on Sunday Night Football on NBC

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BY CHELSEA VANASSCHE

Bob Costas, commentator for NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” addressed the controversial issue surrounding Washington’s team name during the halftime show of the Washington vs. Dallas football game on national television on October 13. 

Costas said the term used for the team name is “an insult, a slur to the Native American culture” and “ask yourself what the equivalent would be if directed toward African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians or members of any other ethnic group.” 

This broadcast was shortly after President Obama commented to the media about team’s name. But the larger story revolves around how Costas addressed the ongoing issue on national television. 

As a journalist/commentator, your responsibility is to be unbiased and report the facts. Specifically a commentator’s job, is to comment on the game, provide the fans with information pertaining to the game and players, and to provide viewers with an inside scoop of the game, team, and players. 

Commentators should not state their own opinions during a broadcast. As controversial as this issue is, Costas only added more fuel to the fire especially considering he was commentating during a Washington game. 

NFL and any other professional league commentator should do what they are getting paid for and that is to strictly comment on the game and its players. The controversial issues regarding teams and players should be left up to the league and the team itself.

Fans should be able to tune into any professional game and be able to enjoy the game without any politics. The great thing about sports is it provides an escape from the real world. For fans, it provides fun and entertainment, and a commentator’s job is to promote exactly that.

Legal Process Halts Coverage of Aaron Hernandez

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BY STEVE KUBITZA

Aaron Hernandez was charged with the murder of Odin Lloyd on June 26 of this year. He had been connected to the murder since June 18th, but it took that amount of time for him to be formally arrested and charged.

From the moment he was first attached to the murder up until his arrest, one could not turn on ESPN or go on any sporting news web sites without seeing headlines about Aaron Hernandez. This is not a complaint, as it was certainly a major news story, but rather an acknowledgement of the story’s significance. 

After his arrest, it was a daily topic of conversation on sports talk shows and news programs. The talk first surrounded his alleged involvement, but once evidence began to surface it focused on his troubled past. 

The talk has died down recently, with the only mention of his case being the legal process itself, such as the prosecutor and judge involved. The latest news had to do with the prosecutor asking the judge to recuse herself, which does not mean for sports fans.

This is not a call for more Hernandez coverage, as it is indeed monotonous to watch legal proceedings that are not even the trial when sports coverage is the desired viewing material.

The issue is that the legal process itself does not allow for proper coverage for an event with such magnitude. It is easily the biggest legal-based story of any athlete since the OJ Simpson trial back in 1994. 

The legal process creates a major gap in time between the arrest itself and a trial. The trial will not take place for months, and by then people may have forgotten that it was set to take place in the first place. 

Once the trial begins it will be a major news story, but his situation is still of major significance in the current moment, and it is not being talked about in such a way. That is not the fault of the media, as there is little to talk about, but it further points out how the legal system in this country is extremely delayed in its proceedings.

Frazier Attacks Pelini on Twitter, Team Comes to Rescue

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 BY KATE ROTH

After an upsetting 41-21 loss to UCLA on September 14th, former Husker Quarterback and University of Nebraska legend, Tommie Frazier decided he had seen enough.

Instead of keeping his anger to himself he took it to social media. He made statements on twitter regarding the need to fire the defensive coaching staff for the Nebraska football team, including head coach, Bo Pelini, if the Huskers wanted to improve.

Many Nebraska fans look up to Frazier, so naturally when the fans saw his comments they started to agree with him. This led to an ambush of tweets from Nebraska fans.

Luckily, countless players came to the rescue of their coach after seeing the comments made by Frazier and other husker fans, stating that the coaching staff did not control the outcome of the game, the players did. They took the blame for the loss and encouraged the Husker faithful to stay true to Coach Pelini and the team.

The comments made by Frazier and the fans seem to have set a spark under the Husker football team. Since the comments were made, Nebraska has gone 3-0 outscoring their opponents 142-46, thanks in big part to the Nebraska defense that has stepped up big time and earned the “black-shirt” defense name.

The Nebraska faithful seem to have forgotten the comments made by Frazier and are back to their full support of Coach Pelini, at least for now.

Although the comments might not have gone over the way that Frazier planned, they have served their purpose in improving this team. They seem to have been what this Husker football team needed all along, something to fire them up, get them excited about playing football again, and give them something to play for.

It is unclear of what lies ahead for Coach Pelini and his coaching staff at the end of this season. We will have to wait and see how the rest of this season plays out and how many more twitter rants they can overcome.

23 Current & Former NFL Players to Participate in New “Sports Journalism & Communications Boot Camp” May 13-16 at Bowling Green State University

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Four-day program for current & former players includes “final exam” covering Toledo Mud Hens baseball game

Twenty three current and former NFL players — including 12-year NFL veteran CHARLIE BATCH, 2012 Patriots Hall of Fame inductee TROY BROWN, and 2001 Heisman Trophy winner ERIC CROUCH — will take part in the first-ever NFL Sports Journalism & Communications Boot Camp from May 13-16 at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. With the new longer offseason, the boot camp is one of a record 10 training programs for post-NFL careers that NFL Player Engagement offers to current and former players.

The four-day program will focus on improving each player’s writing skills for newspapers, radio, and the expanding digital media industry. A field exercise at a Toledo Mud Hens home game will include a mock press conference as part of the player’s game coverage.  Players will write and record their own radio commentary as part of one of the other planned exercises. 

Faculty for the boot camp will include ED BOUCHETTE (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), PETER KING (Sports Illustrated, NBC), and BARRY WILNER (Associated Press) as well as former NFL players-turned-journalists SOLOMON WILCOTS (CBS, NFL Network), MATT BOWEN (Chicago Tribune), MATT CHATHAM (Boston Herald), and BUCKY BROOKS (NFL.com and NFL Network). 

The boot camp is hosted by the BGSU School of Media and Communications and the Sport Management program and was developed with NFL Player Engagement, under the auspices of the Richard A. Maxwell Sport Media Project.

“BGSU is both honored and thrilled to welcome the inaugural NFL Sports Journalism & Communication Boot Camp to our campus. We have both highly skilled professors and alumni teaching interactive sessions and providing excellent instruction in the fast-changing sports media industry,” said DR. TERRY RENTNER, professor and director, BGSU School of Media and Communications. 

Player enrollment criteria include previous participation in NFL Player Engagement programs, prior media experience, essays, and NFL playing experience.

Following are the NFL players participating in the NFL Sports Journalism & Communications Boot Camp:

Player / Current/Former team(s)

Brendon Ayanbadejo / Free agent

Charlie Batch / Free agent

Ralph Brown / Former (NYG, MIN, CLV, ARZ)

Troy Brown / Former (NE)

LaMar Campbell / Former (DET)

Bryon Chamberlain / Former (DEN, MIN, WAS)

Eric Crouch / Former (STL)

Derrick Dockery / Free Agent

Leger Douzable / Free Agent

Jamie Duncan / Former (TB, STL, ATL)

Andre Fluellen / DET

Jay Foreman / Former (BUF, HOU, NYG, SF)

Nick Ferguson / Former (NYJ, DEN, HOU)

Kendall Gammon / Former (PIT, NO, KC)

Ken Hamlin / Former (SEA, DAL, BAL, IND)

Erin Henderson / MIN

Tyoka Jackson / Former (MIA, TB, STL, DET)

Austen Lane / JAX

Ovie Mughelli / Former (BAL, ATL)

Brady Poppinga / Free Agent

Denard Walker / Former (TEN, DEN, MIN, OAK)

Ellis Wyms / Former (TB, SEA, MIN)

Michael Young / Former (ARZ)

For further information, please visit https://www.nflplayerengagement.com/.

Kudos to Griner, Delle Donne and Diggins

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BY JORDAN CRAVENS

Brittney Griner, the No.1 pick in the WNBA draft and a player who has changed the landscape of women’s basketball, has come out as a lesbian.

Her public acknowledgement of her sexuality comes during a time when gay rights and same sex marriage are highly controversial topics in our country as the Supreme Court reviews related legislation.

Griner is not the first WNBA to come out as a lesbian, but she should still be commended for having the strength to do so publicly. Each time a professional athlete “comes out” it will make it easier for future athletes to do so.

Griner came out during an interview with SI. Com that included Elena Delle Donne (Delaware) and Skylar Diggins (Notre Dame), who were the second and third picks in the WNBA draft, respectively.

Not only did Griner come out, but she also had a positive message for others who struggle with revealing their sexual identity.

“Don’t worry about what other people are going to say, because they’re always going to say something, but, if you’re just true to yourself, let that shine through. Don’t hide who you really are,” she told SI.com

What was also encouraging from the interview were comments from Delle Donne and Diggins. They both expressed support for Griner and other athletes who are gay. They also said they hope women’s sports can serve as a catalyst for the first openly gay professional male athlete.

According to various media reports, some male pro athletes are ready to embrace athletes who are gay, while others are not.

One thing I find interesting about the debate is discussion over the locker room. Some have opined that being openly gay in the pros is OK, but to keep it out of the locker room.

Why has the locker room become the central point of debate? I assume other athletes don’t want to be made to feel uncomfortable showering and changing in front of gay athletes? I can’t speak for them, but that excuse comes to mind.

So, as a society, we aren’t comfortable with heterosexuals and homosexuals showering in the same locker room, but we are stamping our approval on the misogyny and homophobia that already exists in the locker room?

I’m not comfortable with misogyny and homophobia. Is it OK if they are kept out of the locker room?

The answer is: they haven’ t been. Locker rooms are a place ripe with derogatory insults toward women and gays. They are a place where masculine hegemony and testosterone run wild.

It’s hard for me to understand why the locker room has become such a sticking point in this debate.

If I were a professional athlete, my bigger concern would be whether my teammate was going to block for me or whether he can shoot a three-pointer in clutch situations.

If you support inclusion for gays in the professional sporting world, then be fully inclusive and ditch the locker room caveat.

And kudos to Griner, Delle Donne and Diggins. Let’s hope the male sporting world is taking notes.

Racial Slur Used During Masters

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BY LORI RAUDIO

During the coverage of the Masters this past weekend, CBS announcer Bobby Clampett used a racial slur when referring to Chinese golfer Liang Wen-Chong. While on air, Clampett called Wen-Chong a Chinese racial slur to which many viewers took offense.

CBS acted swiftly, removing Clampett from the broadcast immediately following the comment. He also issued an apology very quickly, saying, “It has been a privilege to be here with you the last 2 days describing action of all of the players. In describing the Asian player Wen-Chong Liang, if I offended anybody please accept my sincere apologies.”

While I commend Clampett for issuing an apology, I think saying “I’m sorry” would have sounded more sincere than “if I offended anybody.” It seems obvious people were offended if an apology is necessary. In light of recent on air slurs, however, I think Clampett handled the aftermath well and is unlikely to face any additional punishment.

CBS handled this issue very well. Recognizing the offensive comment and removing Clampett from the broadcast was a smart move that required quick thinking. They also issued the apology very promptly, before the incident escalated via the Internet and social media.

This incident, however, is just another on a long list of racial slurs and inappropriate comments made by announcers recently. Sensitivity training or harsher punishments needs to occur to deter these inappropriate remarks from occurring so frequently.

TNT’s Analyst-Only Experiment

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BY ANTHONY ALFORD

For TNT’s broadcast of the NBA game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Golden State Warriors, TNT used three analysts and no play-by-play announcer. This marked the first time in NBA history a broadcast team did not include a play-by-play announcer. Steve Kerr, Reggie Miller, and Chris Webber were on the call.

It could have been a train-wreck, but proved to be an effective line-up.

There were quite a few positives about this broadcast. First, more people watched an otherwise meaningless regular season game and TNT became “trending” topic on Twitter. Fans showed interest in this style of broadcasting because nobody has ever done it. The broadcasting team also had great chemistry from having worked together on NBA TV’s “Open Court.” Despite the game becoming a blowout in the second half, the broadcast team kept it conversational, like three friends at a bar talking about the game.

However, there were some major drawbacks. Because there was no traditional play-by-play person, there was hardly any mention of stats or relevant context to how the game was progressing.

This is not the first time a network tried a non-traditional sportscast. In December 1980, NBC aired an NFL telecast with no announcers. While this was different and interesting, it was insulting to the sports broadcasting profession because, as Dick Enberg said, “We’re paid to talk.” In my opinion, NBC’s experiment was meant to kill an entire profession unlike the TNT experiment.I believe it is OK to do something different for telecasts as long as the experiments are not at the expense of the profession. TNT could do this again in the future, but America will be fine with Marv Albert and Kevin Harlan calling NBA games.

Transgender Fighter Causing Stir in MMA

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BY LORI RAUDIO

The mixed martial arts world has been making headlines recently surrounding the first transgender fighter, Fallon Fox. Fox was born a man, but identifies as a woman and has testosterone levels legally classifying her as one.

Fox’s entry into the MMA world has created controversy as to whether she should be allowed to compete against other women. The International Olympic Committee has ruled yes, as she is legally a woman. Others, however, do not feel the same way. Ultimate Fighting Championship announcer Joe Rogan said on his podcast, “You’re a man. That’s a man, OK?”

Rogan was not the only one to speak out about Fox. The UFC recently suspended heavyweight Matt Mitrione for his remarks. In an interview with MMA Hour he said, “That is a lying, sick, sociopathic, disgusting freak. And I mean that, because you lied on your license to beat up women. That’s disgusting. You should be embarrassed for yourself.”

UFC Champion Ronda Rousey also weighed in, saying Fox has an unfair advantage. If Fox climbs the rankings enough, Rousey may have to compete against her. “It’s not something that happened to her,” Rousey said. “It was a decision she made. She should be aware in her career after that, it’s going to be an arduous path.”

Transgender athletes have long been a point of debate in sports including the cases of Renee Richards, a tennis player and Kye Allums, a college basketball player. These people have met the requirements set by sporting organizations to legally play, yet there is still resistance from society and questions of fairness.

This debate surrounding transgender athletes is likely to continue on, and surely more transgender people will emerge over time. Like homosexuality in sport, transgender athletes in sport also needs to be addressed, without the backlash of negativity and hatred. This will likely be a hot topic over the next few years, and it will be interesting to follow how Fox and similar individuals are accepted into the sports world.