Censored Journalism

The Real Sports segment on athletes and depression due to retirement was compelling. The “real” factor of the news cast was amazingly on target and hit an emotional touch down with many viewers.

Important to the success of the story and how it was received by views was its presentation. By using one main athlete to navigate through the story, it was a great way to approach the issues of depression from a player’s point of view. It made it seem as though reporters were in support of the athletes suffering from depression rather than simply trying to get a story with disregard for the athlete’s well-being.

When the video addressed how the league offers resume writing classes to athletes in preparation for retirement, they showed a close shot of an athlete utilizing the course’s services. When the camera panned out it revealed a surprising three athletes present at the seminar. This shot revealed the sad truth that not many athletes take advantage of the opportunity. So many athletes are in denial about their inevitable future.

The segment also showed a video clip of an extreme case where an athlete suffering from depression committed suicide. The clip had the potential to be inappropriate due to the severity of the incident, but the clip was showed for a short period of time and shot from a far distance.
Many journalists are afraid to address many serious and non-game related sports issues. I feel that much of this is due to improper execution of the story. If other sports publications could discuss these issues and present them in the same tasteful manner as Real Sports, I think there would be more journalists willing to cover such stories.

For example, an article was found online [http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld] that addressed the same issues of retirement related to different athletes. Execution of the article was not as compelling as it was when shown on Real Sports. This may be partially due to the fact that the visuals are not present like they are in television broadcasts. Truth is, most sports stories come from editorials and they need to be just as vivid and have as much impact as broadcasts.

The LA Times article discussed how Chinese athletes who do not become star athletes often become jobless and even crippled. The issue is such a sensitive subject. I particularly like when the journalist stated, “A promise by [the athlete’s] coach…helped her endure a brutal training regime in which she…had no contact with the outside world and no one to protect her from the coach, who beat them with a whip or baton, or knocked them off their feet with the bumper of his car if he thought they were slacking off.” The Chinese athlete retired at the age of 26 with an elementary school education and a body crippled by sports injuries.

The article ended by discussing success stories of Chinese athletes that were able to reinvent themselves after retirement. The article ended so abruptly, I was still focused on the severity of the previous statements and left not wanting to read such depressing stories in the future. A better discussion of the issue would have help soften the harshness of the subject. More people will be enjoy reading these types of articles if they were executed more properly.

By: Darrielle Williams